Fans of the discount retail chain Big Lots will be happy to know that the company is just days away from making the second phase of its comeback. On Thursday, May 1, Big Lots will reopen an additional 54 stores, followed by another 78 stores two weeks later on May 15.
Heres what you need to know about the companys continued retail revival, including which locations will be opening again soon.
Big Lots back from the brink
Back in September 2024, Big Lots filed for bankruptcy. Like many big box discount retailers, Big Lots had struggled from falling foot traffic and declining sales for years. In December 2024, the company announced it would go out of business and close all of its 800 stores.
But just before the end of the year, the Big Lots brand got a last-minute reprieve. Thats when Variety Wholesalers, the company that owns discount retail chains including Bargain Town, Roses, and Super Dollar, agreed to buy just over 200 Big Lots locations from the liquidation firm Gordon Brothers.
Variety Wholesalers said it would continue to operate the locations under the Big Lots brand after closing its newly acquired stores for a short time to prepare them for a new launch with reinvigorated inventory.
Variety made good on its plans when it launched the first wave of a four-phased store reopenings plan in April. As Fast Company previously reported, the company is continuing its reopening push with its phase 2 reopenings on May 1, followed by phase 3 reopenings on May 15.
In other words, many of those stores will open for business on Thursday.
Finally, in June, Variety is expected to complete its final phase 4 reopenings, upon which time a total of 219 Big Lots locations will be open and operating again.
Big Lots reopenings on May 1 and May 15
Variety says its phase 2 and phase 3 Big Lots reopenings will kick off this Thursday, May 1, with 54 additional store reopenings. Two weeks later, on Thursday, May 15, an additional 78 stores will reopen.
First Company has previously published a full list of all the phase 2, 3, and 4 Big Lots stores that are reopening. What follows now is a list of all the 132 Big Lots stores that will reopen in phases 2 and 3 in May. Those stores cover locations in 14 states.
North Carolina will see the most store openings in May, with 27 locations total. Ohio will see 14 stores open in May, and Pennsylvania will see 13 locations open their doors.
(Note that you can see a list of locations, addresses, and opening dates on the newly updated store locator tool on the Big Lots website.)
Alabama (7):
Athens, Decatur, Dothan, Guntersville, Jasper, Mobile, Northport
Florida (5):
Crystal River, Jacksonville, Marianna, Ormond Beach, Panama City
Georgia (11):
Augusta, Brunswick, Buford, Cornelia, Dallas, Fort Oglethorpe, Marietta, Smyrna, Valdosta, Vidalia, Waycross
Indiana (1):
Jasper
Kentucky (9):
Campbellsville, Danville, Elizabethtown, Glasgow, Hazard, London, Middlesboro, Richmond, Somerset
Michigan (5):
Burton, Flint, Port Huron, Shelby Township, Southgate
Mississippi (1):
Southhaven
North Carolina (27):
Belmont, Burlington, Clemmons, Dunn, Elizabeth City, Elkin, Fayetteville, Gastonia, Greensboro, Greenville, Hickory, Kinston, Lexington, Lincolnton, Mocksville, Mooresville, Mount Airy, Newton, Roanoke Rapids, Rocky Mount, Selma, Shelby, Southport, Statesville, Wake Forest, Wilkesboro, Wilson
Ohio (14):
Alliance, Boardman, Bridgeport, Columbus, Elyria, Fremont, Grove City, Kettering, Lancaster, New Philadelphia, Reynoldsburg, Toledo, Warren, Wintersville
Pennsylvania (13):
Bloomsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Du Bois, Dunmore, East Stroudsburg, Erie, Eynon, Franklin, Lehighton, Lewisburg, Meadville, New Castle
South Carolina (8):
Easley, Greenwood, Lexington, Rock Hill, Seneca, Simpsonville, Spartanburg, West Columbia
Tennessee (10):
Alcoa, Cleveland, Greeneville, Jefferson City, Johnson City, Knoxville, Morristown, Murfreesboro, Rogersville, Sevierville
Virginia (10):
Chesapeake, Chester, Fredericksburg, Front Royal, Martinsville, North Chesterfield, North Prince George, Waynesboro, Winchester, Yorktown
West Virginia (8):
Beckley, Bridgeport, Charleston, Elkins, Fairmont, Martinsburg, Oak Hill, Princeton
Big Lots phase 4 store reopenings in June
Big Lots phase 1 in April saw nine locations reopen. Phase 2, on May 1, will see another 54 locations reopen, followed by the May 15 phase 3 reopening of 78 stores.
Variety says it plans to reopen 219 Big Lots stores across four phases, which means that phase 4, which is scheduled for June 2025, will see the final 78 planned store reopenings. The exact date for when the final phase 4 reopenings will occur in June is unknown, but it will likely be earlier in the month.
