The owners of the former Best Buy on Missouri Boulevard are welcoming a new Big Lots in its place.
The former Best Buy in Jefferson City closed last fall after its lease was up, part of an ongoing review of its existing stores. It had been open at the Missouri Boulevard location for more than a decade.
Big Lots will join Planet Fitness, which remains open at the shopping center.
Owner Sam Spiegel of Florida-based Shoppes At Jefferson (SAJ Associates) revealed the plans this week. Spiegel said the tentative plan is to open in late October.
"We have relationships with a lot of different retailers, and when Best Buy decided they were going to close the store, I got in contact with Big Lots," Spiegel said. "They said they would love to have a store in Jefferson City, and the store is already 30,000 square feet -- the typical size for a Big Lots. They're in the process of setting up the store for their business now."
Work began to transition the space from one retail setup to another last month, Spiegel said.
Spiegel appealed the county's appraisal of the building before the Board of Equalization earlier in the week, stating the company had offered Big Lots a total of 33 months at the location rent-free as part of the deal to open a store there early this year. The assessment decreased by $1 million to account for lost income from Best Buy's departure.
Big Lots, a national retail chain, has two dozen other Missouri locations, including one in Columbia. It has more than 1,460 total stores and is headquartered in Ohio.
While there's still work to do on the new store, Spiegel said it will be a great addition to the area when it opens its doors.
"I think this will be a big positive for the community, and that's very important to all of us," Spiegel said. "We like to bring in retail businesses that will be good for the Jefferson City area and stores that will do really well, and I think they will. It's a big process to convert a store from prior use, but it's under way, and they're working to get all that completed."
Big Lots will be located at 3225 Missouri Blvd.
Know of any business happenings around Jefferson City? Let us know at [email protected] or 573-761-0243.