Cheyenne Big Lots is closing

Closing banners have already been plastered all over the Big Lots store front. - Optopolis

Cheyenne's Big Lots is now closing, which means Wyoming will soon be down to just one remaining Big Lots location in Casper. This is following hundreds of other Big Lots recently announced to close.

A look at the history of Big Lots in Cheyenne

Although the current Big Lots location in Parkway Plaza has only been around for about five years, Big Lots has been in Cheyenne for well over a decade. Cheyenne's Big Lots used to be located in the Cheyenne Plaza next door to what is now Sportsman's Warehouse (long-since former Z's Furnishings, Albertsons, and others).

The old Big Lots in Cheyenne Plaza during its relocation/closing sale in 2019 - Optopolis

This building was built in 1981 according to the Laramie County Property Assessor, but Big Lots was not the original tenant. The original tenant appears to have been a store called Pay 'n Save, noted in the city directory from 1983, although it had a different street address at the time which was 3611 East Lincolnway. Nowadays, the space is located at 3741 East Lincolnway. City directories from the early 1990s appear to list the space as vacant.

Jumping to the 1997 directory, however, an Old America Store is listed at 3741 East Lincolnway. It's unclear here at Optopolis if there was a tenant present at this location at the turn of the 2000s, but the 2002 directory lists the space as Pic-N-Save. According to a release from Big Lots dated April 8, 2002, Big Lots was already in the process of converting its 131 Pic 'N' Save stores to the Big Lots brand; unfortunately, the release only lists some locations in California and not the whole list of stores affected.

One of several parts of the old Cheyenne Plaza Big Lots when the floor was mostly emptied of products - Optopolis

(The old Big Lots space will once again be a Spirit Halloween for the 2024 Halloween season.)

By the end of August 2019, Big Lots was in the process of relocating to the new location across the parking lot in the Parkway Plaza. The new location opened on September 26th, 2019 and had a grand opening that started the following day. The first 50 people in the store on September 27th were supposed to be given a free grab bag.

The space in the Parkway Plaza that Big Lots replaced used to be part of Cheyenne's Labelle's Department Store whose building, according to the Laramie County Property Assessor, was built in 1978. Most recently prior to Big Lots, the space was a portion of Cheyenne's Hobby Lobby which relocated to the former Kmart on Dell Range Boulevard.

Announcement of closing Cheyenne store

On the afternoon of August 2nd, 2024, people on Cheyenne's Big Lots email list likely received an unsettling email that stated "Your local Big Lots store will soon be closing." It advertises discounts of up to 20% off store wide with limited exceptions, along with "deep discounts on furniture, home decor, and essentials."

Store closing banners line the front of the Cheyenne store. - Optopolis

The Big Lots website also states that this location is closing. This closure was announced more recently than others; as of July 30th, the store wasn't closing although it had a sign in the door saying, "The biggest clearance event of the year! Up to 60% off 1000's of items."

Over the last few months, Big Lots has been closing many stores nationwide as they begin to consider filing for bankruptcy. Currently, the list includes nearly 300 stores set to close. In Colorado, locations in Greeley, Longmont, Littleton, and one in Aurora are closing. This also follows the closure of the Fort Collins Big Lots that took place in 2023.

This is the Big Lots in Longmont's former Kmart. This store is in the process of closing. - Optopolis

Currently, the Casper Big Lots is not closing, meaning Wyoming will soon be down to only one Big Lots location. Nebraska also doesn't have any Big Lots announced to close. It's unclear to Optopolis at this time if Big Lots will end up filing for bankruptcy.

What does it look like now (08/02)?

As of the night of August 2nd, the store still had quite the selection of merchandise available, and Halloween displays were even set up inside the store. Also, the front of the store is now plastered with store closing banners, as could be seen in the photo at the top of this article.

Furniture seen in the middle of the Cheyenne Big Lots store. - Optopolis

It appears there are still more signs yet to be posted throughout the store, as someone going through the checkout area may notice the bunch of store closing signs sitting near the exit door. It's not yet known to Optopolis at this time what the last day of this store will be.

Update 08/03: What happened and what's next?

In a visit to the store on August 3rd, more signs had been posted throughout the store, better clarifying what is and is not on sale. Food items are not discounted. Most other items, as of August 3rd, were discounted anywhere from 5% to 20% off, including Halloween supplies, many home goods, and many pieces of furniture. The percent off of products is expected to be increased each week.

Signs throughout the store indicated that many products were five, then, or twenty percent off their original price. This doesn't include food items which are not discounted. - Optopolis

Locals clearly have been curious why the Cheyenne store is closing. Allegedly, according to multiple workers that have spoken to visitors including Optopolis, the main reason for the closure is theft. To quote one employee, "[Big Lots] lose[s] more money than [Big Lots is] bringing in."

The store is currently estimated to close around the end of October, about a month later than the estimated closure time frame of the Longmont store (which was announced in mid-July and is expected to close in September). According to one worker, the Cheyenne store is estimated to close in about 12 to 16 weeks from today, August 3rd.

The line for the checkout counters wrapped around the aisle leading to the registers and clear to the east side wall, seen in the background of this photo. - Optopolis

Today, the line of people at the checkout registers was frequently stretched to the east-side wall of the store. The parking lot was around half to three-fourths full of parked vehicles, compared to recent weeks when only a quarter of the parking lot may be occupied.

How do you feel about yet another big box chain starting to shut down their stores? Do you think Big Lots will make a comeback one day, or is this the end of the brand? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Published: 08/02/2024 at 9:31 PM MT

Updated: 08/03/2024 at 7:04 PM MT to add further details about the store closing, including why and when the store will close.

Updated: 08/09/2024 at 6:03 PM MT to embed a video walk through of the store.