Big Lots to close Morris County location as list grows to 500

The list of Big Lots store closures has now reached nearly 500, with all but one North Jersey store getting the ax as the discount retail chain continues its bankruptcy process, according to recent court filings .

The number of New Jersey locations slated to close has now reached 13, with locations across the Garden State dwindling down to 14, for now. The big-box retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and entered into a sales agreement with an affiliate of Nexus Capital Management LP, Big Lots said in a news release last month .

In July, Big Lots announced its plans to close up to 40 locations by year's end, then in August, that number jumped to 315 , according to Securities and Exchange Commissions filings.

But the number was even larger when the company announced on Sept. 11 that 344 stores would in fact close, with seven listed in New Jersey. On Sept. 20, an additional 49 stores were added to the chopping block, with one in New Jersey. A week later, on Sept. 27, court filings showed an additional 58 were added (two more in New Jersey) and just this month, on Oct. 4, an additional 46 were added. Three were in New Jersey in the latest filing.

The beleaguered retailer, once believed to be a fierce competitor to Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco and Target, blamed economic factors such as "high inflation and interest rates" in paperwork filed in court.

During the process, the website and store locations will remain open for shopping. Some locations across the nation have already closed, with the number of locations at 1,244 , down from 1,425 at the start of 2023 . None of the New Jersey locations have been removed as of Thursday evening .

So what stores are officially slated to close in North Jersey?

Big Lots locations that will close in North Jersey

Morris County

• Dover , 550 Mount Pleasant Ave.

Bergen County

• Woodbridge , 471 Green St.

Other New Jersey Big Lots stores set to close

The following locations are closing, according to court filings as of Oct. 10:

• Cherry Hill
• Clifton
• Dover
• East Brunswick
• Freehold
• Glassboro
• Jersey City
• Mays Landing
• Millville
• North Bergen
• Ocean
• Phillipsburg
• Union

What Big Lots stores have yet to announce closures in New Jersey?

As of the latest court filings on Oct. 11, the following Big Lots stores in New Jersey have yet to be affected by the store closures:

• Barnegat
• Beverly
• Brick
• Cape May
• Cape May Court House
• Clifton
• Hamilton
• Lumberton
• Middletown
• Sicklerville
• Somers Point
• South Plainfield
• Toms River
• West Deptford

The latest list of closures leaves just one North Jersey location left in Clifton in Passaic County, with the second closest store in South Plainfield in Middlesex County.

Email: lcomstock@njherald.com ; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook .

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Big Lots to close Morris County location as list grows to 500