New tenants are in the works for the former County Market space on South Sixth Street, which has been vacant since the grocery store chain moved out at the end of last year.
A “coming soon” banner with logos for Ollie’s Bargain Outlet and O’Reilly Auto Parts is now displayed on the front of the building at 2777 S. Sixth St. Tom Kuypers, senior vice president of marketing for Ollie’s, confirmed that the company is leasing approximately 30,000 square feet of the space. He said the Pennsylvania-based company plans to open the Springfield store in late spring 2026.
The discount store chain was founded in 1982 and now has 618 locations in 31 states, according to its website. The company sells a wide selection of products including housewares, bed and bath, floor coverings, hardware, toys, books and food, mostly overstock or closeout merchandise purchased in bulk from other retailers. Ollie’s describes its stores as “a unique, fun and engaging treasure hunt shopping experience.”
A Feb. 27 statement posted to the company’s website announced that it had purchased 63 store leases from competitor Big Lots, with plans to convert those locations to Ollie’s by the end of the year.
“This acquisition, along with the investments we have made to position the company for sustainable long-term growth provides us with the opportunity to accelerate new store openings in 2025 above our 10% annual growth target and open approximately 75 units,” said Eric van der Valk, president and CEO of Ollie’s.
The two Springfield Big Lots stores, one in White Oaks Plaza and one on South Dirksen Parkway, both closed at the beginning of this year as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that resulted in the closure of more than 900 stores across the U.S.
While Ollie’s is not taking over Big Lots’ former Springfield locations, the departure of its competitor appears to have created an opening in the market.
Jeff St. Romain, a commercial broker with Greystone Development Group, which owns the shopping center, told SBJ last September that it was Niemann Foods’ choice to not renew the lease for that County Market location, although he said the company had expressed some interest in a “smaller grocery concept.”
However, he told SBJ Oct. 8 that those plans did not come to fruition. “(Niemann) was looking at another concept but decided not to do that.”
St. Romain confirmed the space has been divided “almost in half” to accommodate leases with the two new tenants. “We’ll get started on construction in January; there will be facade changes on the main component and sprucing up the center in general.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comments from Jeff St. Romain, who represents the shopping center ownership group.
This article appears in October SBJ 2025.