In a suburban shopping center west of Miami, Florida, the last Kmart on the US mainland stands, a quiet relic of retail’s past, the Associated Press reports.
Once a popular shopping destination, the Kmart now sits mostly unnoticed among bustling stores like Marshalls, Hobby Lobby, and PetSmart, attracting only the occasional shopper, often out of nostalgia rather than necessity.
Since the closure of a Long Island store earlier this year, this Miami Kmart is the sole mainland location still operating from a chain that peaked with around 2,500 stores. Today, there are only a few other locations—three in the US Virgin Islands and one in Guam—along with an online store. Unlike the massive “big-box” stores that made Kmart famous in the 1980s, the Miami branch now occupies a fraction of its former space. Much of its original footprint is now a home furnishings store, and the remaining Kmart space has been reduced to the size of a typical drugstore.
Despite this downsizing, the Miami Kmart maintains an organized and well-stocked interior, offering a small selection of household essentials, appliances, toys, and seasonal decorations. A recorded voice still announces “Attention Kmart shoppers” for the few browsing customers.
For those who enter, it’s often a journey down memory lane. Architect Juan de la Madriz stopped by out of curiosity and purchased a small toy for his grandson, remarking that while he feels nostalgic, he’s aware of the challenges the store faces in an era dominated by online shopping. Younger visitors, like college students Joey Fernandez and Wilfredo Huayhua, dropped in just to reminisce, recalling larger Kmarts from their childhoods and the days when the chain was a vibrant part of American retail.
Founded in Michigan in 1962, Kmart’s rapid rise established it as a national retail giant by the 1980s, second only to Sears. However, in the late 1990s, costly diversification efforts, competition from Walmart and Target, and a failure to adapt to the online marketplace contributed to Kmart’s decline. The company ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2002. Transformco, which acquired Kmart and Sears from a 2019 bankruptcy, has continued closing stores, leaving only the Miami Kmart, Store #3074, as the last outpost in the continental US.
For some locals, this last Kmart offers a glimpse into retail’s history. Teacher Oliver Sequin noted he appreciated the Miami Kmart’s cleanliness and organization, recalling that it felt more manageable than the large, crowded stores of the past.
