End of an Era With the Last Two Sears Stores in Maine Closing

The Farmington and Caribou Hometown Sears, are closing their doors.

These were the only Sears left in Maine. And yes, everything must go! The Bangor Daily News reported that the liquidation has started and they are boldly advertising it on their website.

These two stores are among the 115 Sears Hometown stores in 36 states and Puerto Rico that are liquidating. They are the holdouts from a move by Sears Holding Corp back in 2018 to close 142 of its Sears and Kmart stores. This was part of trying to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Every time I go to the Maine Mall in South Portland, Maine - I wonder about Sears. The place you could get a haircut, lawnmower, and back-to-school clothes.

This Sears, the last of its kind (not a Hometown store) closed back in 2020. It seems like it was long ago. I peeked in the window to see if any activity was happening inside. Nope.

Such a bummer. This Sears had been one of the first anchor stores at the Maine Mall back in 1971. For those of us old enough to remember when catalogs were the way to shop, the Sears catalog was THE best thing. When that came in the mail, it was pages and pages and pages of things you wanted for Christmas.

Fast forward a few decades and a store that would perm your hair, provide you with car insurance, mow your lawn and clothe your body all in one isn't a thing anymore. Now there's a store in the Maine Mall that is all about what is trending on TikTok (Showcase). Go figure. I wonder what will replace this...