Newark, DE - 301 College Square
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| Vacant storefront with Kmart labelscar (2019) © The Bradlees Archive |
Closed: 1989
Currently: Vacant; Became Kmart (Closed 2018)
Bradlee's Newark location was one of four stores to be opened by the chain in Delaware, however information is pretty hard to come by about this one. Located in the College Square Shopping Center just off of the University of Delaware campus, it was one of two anchors, with the other being a Pathmark supermarket. A lot of folks claim that this store opened in 1983, however going though the property records for New Castle County shows that the building was actually constructed in 1986, with The Morning News of Wilmington featuring a Grand Opening ad in its March 26, 1987 issue. The store was announced to be closing late in 1988, as part of Stop and Shop's attempt to sell of Bradlees' Southern Division to recoup some of the debt it incurred during a takeover attempt by The Dart Corporation earlier that year. The lease was sold off to Hechinger, who incidentally didn't seem to open a location there, with Kmart moving in in 1989. Today the property is being redeveloped, with most of the surrounding strip mall being bulldozed over, though the original Bradlees/Kmart pad still stands.
Below is the ad from The Morning News. I plan on getting a higher quality version from the University of Delaware's archive of the paper, however I won't be able to get there for a few more weeks. Stay tuned!
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| Page 69, March 26, 1987 © The Morning News, Wilmington, Del. |
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| Article from Page 6 of The Review (UD's Student Newspaper), February 3, 1989 |
