Westwood’s Kmart, state’s last, to close in fall

A worker appears to be securing a store closing banner atop Kmart, at Westwood Plaza, the morning of Aug. 3, 2023. The plaza’s anchor tenant served generations. John Snyder photo

WESTWOOD—Kmart Westwood #3202, opened at 700 Broadway in 1982, this week says everything must go, even fixtures and equipment.

On Facebook, the outlet — the state’s sole remaining Kmart, and one of the last of its kind worldwide — is touting racks of colorful new men’s loungewear.

The store is bright and well-stocked, having recently been spruced up. It says it will close Oct. 29 — thus far leaving questions about the 174,275-square-foot plaza’s future. 

Mayor Ray Arroyo tells Pascack Press he received official word about the closure and that there is no related pending application before the borough’s governing body or land-use boards.

Everything must go: Inside the Westwood Kmart on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. John Snyder photo.

Landlord Hekemian & Co. of Hackensack has an application with the state DEP for earth moving and an expansion, south, of the store footprint. Hekemian on its website touts the plaza, with its 1,000 parking spaces, as prime commercial space. It does not list Kmart as a key tenant, merely illustrating it as divisible.