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Reporter-News Archives Tuesday, July 13, 1999 Kmart to become Big K store By ANNA L. DEROCHER Staff Writer Construction has started on a Big Kmart slated to open next March at Westgate Towne Center. The 118,500-square-foot store is being built next to the Winn-Dixie grocery store at South 1st and Pioneer streets. A Big K should not be mistaken for a Super K, a discount store and grocery store. Big K is smaller but will have a pantry, offering dairy products, frozen pizza and bread among other items. “We relocate and build a newer, bigger store nearby,” said Dan Jarvis, Kmart’s media relations specialist. “It’s basically us investing more in the neighborhood. We see a lot of potential in that area, and this is our way of investing in that area.” Kmart’s current location at North 1st and Pioneer will close upon opening of the new store, said Ray Range, Kmart’s local manager. The store’s lease on the 84,000-square-foot building on North 1st is up next June, and the landlord is already looking for a new tenant, Range said. Big K will have about 100 employees, 70 of whom will be transferred from the old Kmart. About 30 more employees will be hired to accommodate the store’s added features, Range said. The new store will have an Olan Mills photography studio, a pharmacy and a small cafeteria called the K Café. Big K will also sell beer. Range said customers will be able to take advantage of Kmart Solutions, an online catalog service. Shoppers will be able to search online for merchandise not available at the store and have the items shipped to their homes. Nothing from the current store will be transferred to the new store, Range said, including merchandise. Range said Abilene’s store will be one of the last stores to be relocated or remodeled into the newer, bigger Big K or Super K stores. He said Sweetwater, San Angelo and Wichita Falls will begin 10-week remodeling projects on their stores Aug. 15. Kmart came to Abilene in 1970 at the North 1st location. The company later opened a second location in 1980 on Buffalo Gap Road, where Big Lots is now. That Kmart closed in 1990 because of competition with Target, Wal-Mart and the Mall of Abilene. Westgate Towne Center replaces the Westgate Mall, which was considered a pacesetter as the city’s first large shopping center. It opened in 1962. The original structure was torn down in 1997 to make room for Winn-Dixie, the new Big K, and six other retail shops and two restaurants. Anna L. Derocher may be reached at (915) 676-6786 or derochera@abinews.com. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:  texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local News Texas News Copyright ©1999, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications

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