If you grew up anywhere between Elmont and Montauk, the red "K" was basically a landmark. It wasn't just a store. It was where you went for ICEEs, cheap school supplies, and that weirdly specific smell of popcorn and floor wax. But the story of Kmart Long Island New York isn't just a nostalgia trip; it’s a brutal case study in retail collapse that played out right in our backyards.
Honestly, it’s still kinda wild to think about how fast it all unraveled.
At its peak, Kmart was the king of the Island's suburban sprawl. They had prime real estate. They had the Blue Light Special. They had the Martha Stewart Everyday collection that, for a minute there, actually made Kmart feel... classy? Or at least "suburban chic." Then, the retail apocalypse hit, and Long Island became the front line for the downfall of an American icon.
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The Bridgehampton Stand: The Last One Left
For a long time, the Bridgehampton location was the "Last Man Standing." While the Kmarts in Huntington, Sayville, and Farmingville were getting gutted and turned into Targets or kooky self-storage units, the Bridgehampton Kmart just kept chugging along at 2044 Montauk Highway.
It was an anomaly.
You had billionaire hedge fund managers and celebrities shopping for beach towels right next to locals buying laundry detergent. It was arguably the most democratic square footage in the entire Hamptons. But in 2024, the axe finally fell. Transform SR Brands LLC—the entity that crawled out of the Sears Holdings bankruptcy—announced it was closing.
When that store shut its doors in October 2024, it wasn't just another store closing. It was the end of an era for Kmart Long Island New York. It was actually the last full-size Kmart in the mainland United States for a brief window before the Miami location also bit the dust.
People drove for hours just to walk the aisles one last time. It was haunting. Half-empty shelves, "70% Off" signs taped to peeling pillars, and that depressing silence that happens when the background music finally stops. It felt less like a liquidation sale and more like a wake.
Why Long Island Lost Its Blue Light
You've probably wondered why Kmart couldn't survive here while Target and Walmart are absolutely killing it. It wasn't just one thing. It was a "perfect storm" of bad management and even worse timing.
First off, the 2005 merger with Sears was, frankly, a disaster. Eddie Lampert, the hedge fund guy who took over, tried to run a retail empire like a portfolio of stocks rather than, you know, a place where people buy socks. He didn't invest in the buildings. If you walked into the Kmart Long Island New York stores in the 2010s, you saw it. Leaky roofs. Dim lighting. Registers from 1994.
Long Islanders are picky.
We have options. If the Kmart in West Babylon feels dingy, we just drive five minutes down Sunrise Highway to a bright, shiny Target. Kmart stopped giving people a reason to choose them. They lost their identity. Were they a discounter? A department store? Nobody knew.
- The Real Estate Factor: The land under these stores became more valuable than the business itself. Landlords on Long Island realized they could make way more money by breaking up a massive Kmart anchor spot into smaller, premium shops like Whole Foods or REI.
- Inventory Woes: Toward the end, the supply chain was a mess. You’d go in for a specific toaster and find an entire aisle filled with nothing but off-brand summer chairs in the middle of November.
The Farmingville and Middle Island Ghosts
If you want to see the physical impact of the Kmart Long Island New York exit, look at the "big box" scars left behind. The Farmingville Kmart on North Ocean Avenue was a staple for decades. When it closed, it left a massive void in the community.
Middle Island had a similar fate. That site sat in a weird limbo for years. These weren't just stores; they were "anchor tenants." When an anchor leaves, the little "mom and pop" shops in the same strip mall—the dry cleaners, the pizza places, the nail salons—they all suffer because the foot traffic evaporates.
It’s a domino effect.
I remember the Sayville Kmart on Sunrise Highway. It was massive. Now, it’s a At Home store. It’s better than an empty shell, sure, but it doesn't have that same communal vibe. Kmart had a pharmacy, a garden center, and a cafe. It was a one-stop shop before Amazon made "one-stop" mean "don't leave your couch."
The Martha Stewart Factor and What Went Wrong
We can't talk about Kmart Long Island New York without talking about Martha. She was the secret sauce. For a while, the Kmart in Huntington was the place to go for high-quality bed sheets that didn't cost a week's pay.
But then came the legal troubles and the branding shifts. When the Martha Stewart partnership cooled off, Kmart tried to pivot to Joe Boxer and Jaclyn Smith. It just didn't have the same pull. The "middle-class squeeze" hit Long Island hard. People either went "upmarket" to shops in the Roosevelt Field Mall or "downmarket" to Dollar Tree. Kmart got stuck in the boring middle.
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And honestly? The website was a joke. While Walmart was pouring billions into competing with Amazon, Kmart’s digital presence felt like a high school coding project. On Long Island, where everyone is busy and traffic is a nightmare, if your "buy online, pick up in store" app doesn't work, you're dead in the water.
The Reality of Retail in 2026
Looking back, the disappearance of Kmart Long Island New York was inevitable. The property taxes alone on this Island make it nearly impossible for a struggling business to "wait out" a bad cycle.
But there’s a lesson here for the businesses that replaced them.
The stores that are winning now—the ones that took over those old Kmart leases—are the ones that offer an "experience." You don't go to the new Wegmans or the revamped Targets just for commodities. You go because it's clean, efficient, and actually pleasant. Kmart forgot that retail is theater. They let the stage lights go out and the curtains get dusty.
What to do if you’re a "Kmart Orphan"
If you still find yourself missing the specific thrill of a Blue Light Special, you're mostly out of luck on the Island. However, you can still find the "vibe" if you know where to look.
- Check out the liquidation hubs: Stores like Ocean State Job Lot have moved into some of the older discount spaces. They have that "treasure hunt" feel that Kmart used to have.
- Visit the "Last" stores: If you’re traveling, there are literally only a handful left in places like Guam and the Virgin Islands. It’s a long flight for a sub sandwich and a pair of discounted jeans, but hey, nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
- Support the local strip malls: The best way to prevent more "ghost stores" is to shop at the businesses still clinging to life in those old Kmart plazas.
The story of Kmart on Long Island is a wrap. The signs are down. The parking lots have been repaved. But for those of us who spent Friday nights wandering those aisles, the memories of the flashing blue light will always be a part of the Island’s DNA.
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The most practical thing you can do now is keep an eye on the redevelopment plans for these sites. Most are being turned into mixed-use residential or high-end grocery stores. In a place where housing is as expensive as Long Island, turning an old parking lot into apartments might actually be the most "Kmart" thing possible: providing something the community actually needs at a price they can (hopefully) afford.