ANTIOCH — From appliances to tools and tires, clothing, custom draperies, prescription eyeglasses and imported china, the Antioch Sears store has sold a little of everything. But after nearly 70 years in town, the big-box retailer is closing its doors for good here.
Six months after emerging from bankruptcy with some 425 remaining stores, Sears, Roebuck and Co. announced in early August that it would close 21 more stores by October. On the chopping block was the Antioch site, where the retail giant had operated since 1952, first downtown on F Street and later at the Somersville Towne Center since 1973 (then East County Mall).
Almost 100 additional stores across the country will face a similar fate through January, although the company has not provided an official list since August. In Antioch, the “going-out-of-business” sales signs now advertise the end is near, with the local store shuttering on Oct. 27.
“We are saddened to lose Sears, and while unfortunate, we anticipate exciting concepts to be attracted to the Sears location, which we do not own,” said Shannon Skinner, Somersville Towne Center’s marketing manager.
Ray Waters, the mall’s general manager, also was hopeful but did not indicate what may next occupy the longtime anchor store’s spot. Sears, which owns the 66,500-square-foot building, did not return calls.
“This is an opportunity for Somersville Towne Center and the city of Antioch to see what new and exciting concepts will be presented,” Waters said, echoing Skinner’s comments.
“In recent months, we have opened several new stores and will be hosting multiple community events, and we very much look forward to continuing to provide our loyal customers with a vibrant shopping experience,” Waters said.
Others were less positive about what lies ahead.
“We live in an age of convenience. Pretty much anything is only a click away, and people want it now,” Antioch native Michael Little wrote in answer to this newspaper’s Facebook post about Sears’ closing. “The old Main Streets of America are drying up and becoming a ghostly memory of simpler times gone by.”
“The tragedy of employees losing their jobs is (to be blamed) on ownership sucking all of the money out of the company, not just on changing shopping trends,” added Alexander Lukash who said his father worked for the company for decades. “Losing this store is losing a part of Antioch’s good history.”
Antioch Historical Society President Stan Davis was a city engineer when Sears decided to leave downtown and relocate to what then was an outdoor mall just south of Highway 4.
“With all the subdivisions starting to develop, they wanted to be out where the people were and near the freeway,” he said. “It was bad for downtown, but good for the city that they stayed in Antioch. … Keeping a department store in Antioch was definitely a big deal.”
Davis said Sears, like many department stores, faced a lot of competition, including from online sales. In the past 10 years, retail giants like Mervyn’s and Gottschalks also shuttered their anchor stores at the Antioch mall before closing up shop entirely.
“It is a sign of the times, but it’s a loss for Antioch because it is a major department store,” Davis said of the big-box giant founded in the 1890s as a mail-order firm.
Though the Antioch Sears was not a top-tier store — those were in bigger locations like the one in Pleasant Hill — it still offered customers an array of brand-name and signature appliances, tools, home goods, apparel and, later on, affordable portraits at its in-house photo studio. An automotive shop, which closed weeks ago, offered tires, battery service, oil changes and more.
Katie Bookman Lamothe, of Antioch, worked two decades for Sears in Antioch and Pleasanton. Her father also sold insurance, another of the store’s many offerings, for the company.
“The people working there were old-timers (at the first Antioch store), and everyone knew us and welcomed us,” she said. “Sears was a great place to work later for me. I was a decorator and sold carpet, custom draperies and furniture … ,” she said.
“My dad worked there part-time in the shoe department, especially through the holidays — great memories,” Mark Ornellas added. “They always had an excellent Santa.”
Frank J. Ballesteros, meanwhile, said he “grew up with that store,” buying his first football at Sears along with many a warm jacket and shoes.
The original downtown location brought back even more warm memories for the Antioch native.
“Mr. Dominic Sigari, who was manager of the appliance department, on Saturday mornings would put one TV close to the window so we could watch Mickey Mantle play in 1957,” Ballesteros recalled warmly. “A lot of us did not have televisions, so there would be about 10 of us watching the game!”
