Flashback Friday: Reliving Kmart Shopping Days in Tyler & Longview, Texas

(Tyler, Texas) - For some reason, a memory of shopping at Kmart in Tyler popped in my head. Our mind is weird thing, right? The last time I was in a Kmart was the early 2000s. I don't remember what I bought, if anything, but I believe it was as the store was closing down because I remember some clearance signs.

The store in Longview stayed open for a little bit longer than the Tyler one. Sadly, all of that is gone now with only the memories that remain. It's just weird how a store like that, especially for us of a certain age, will never be forgotten.

Reliving Kmart Shopping Days in Tyler & Longview

I remember shopping at Kmart in Tyler. I had some help trying to remember where the original location of Tyler's Kmart was before it moved to Loop 323 close to Troup Highway.

It was located where Big Lots is now on Beckham (which is closing soon). The location shut down in 1992 to move to its new Loop 323 location. That location shut down in 2003 and later became Hobby Lobby and is now Crunch Fitness.

Original Tyler Kmart location where Big Lots is now on Beckham

Old Tyler Kmart location on Loop 323, closed in 2003, Crunch Fitness now

Kmart Store in Longview

As for the Longview Kmart, I only remember it at the McCann Road location. That Kmart lasted well past the Tyler location, closing in 2016. The building stood empty for three years or so until it was repurposed for a self storage business and an apartment complex.

Longview Kmart in 2013 from Google Street View

That area is now a Simply Stor-It and Parkside Apartments.

Sears in East Texas

As we were doing this reminiscing, we did some crack research into if Kmart as a brand and retail store was even still open. Their parent company is Sears who filed for bankruptcy many years ago and closed a bunch of stores, including where my dad was employed in Tyler, that was attached to the Broadway Square Mall.

Sadly, the last Kmart store in Bridgehampton, New York shut down in 2024. There is a small Kmart store in Miami, Florida and some locations in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam that are still open.

Kmart just couldn't keep up with Walmart, Target and other retailers and had to shut its doors. It's sad for those of us who fondly remember family shopping trips and grabbing a "blue light special." It's just crazy to think how quickly things can change in an area of East Texas and how the memories of those locations never go away.

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