Ocean State Job Lot acquires 15 Big Lots leases; to open 22 new stores this year

OSJL will open its first stores in Maryland and Delaware this year.

A regional discount chain is the latest to acquire the leases of former Big Lots locations.

Ocean State Job Lot (OSJL), which operates 159 stores across the Northeast, has acquired 15 Big Lots locations in eight states following the chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. OSJL plans to open up to 22 new stores this year, including the 15 former Big Lots locations and five to seven additional locations. The company’s growth in 2025 will add two new states, Maryland and Delaware, to OSJL’s footprint.

The new OSJL locations, which range from 27,188 to 43,021 sq.-ft., are slated to open by mid-summer 2025. They include:

• Somers Point, Barnegat, and Cape May, N.J.
• Chester, Easton, and Elkton, Md.
• Dover and Seaford, Del.
• Harrisburg and Trexlertown, Pa.
• Dansville and Liverpool, N.Y.
• Webster, Mass.
• Morrisville, Vt.
• Auburn, Maine.

[READ MORE: Ollie’s acquires 40 more Big Lots leases; eyes 75 total openings in 2025]

OSJL says it will hire for up to 70 positions for each store, and added that current Big Lots associates will be offered positions.