Ocean State Job Lot opens in Meredith’s Olde Province Common

MEREDITH — Ocean State Job Lot, the discount retail chain founded and headquartered in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, expanded its presence in New Hampshire to a baker's dozen yesterday with the opening its store at Olde Province Common on Route 104.

Last spring, Ocean State Job Lot purchased the shopping center, which filed for bankruptcy in 2014, for $2,050,000, began renovating some 30,000 square feet of space in July, and spent the last month stocking the shelves with inventory.

The company is a "closeout" retailer, offering discontinued and overstocked goods, including sporting goods and housewares at discounted prices, along with new items that are regularly restocked, as well as assorted foodstuffs.

Founded in 1977, Ocean State Job Lot owns and operates 109 stores in the six New England states as well as a dozen in New York and New Jersey. Apart from the Meredith store, there are stores in Concord, Derry, Hooksett, Milford, Nashua, Newport, Northumberland, Ossipee, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Walpole and Woodsville.

The company often acquires or leases space opened by the failure of supermarkets and discount stores. In Meredith, Ocean State Job Lot occupies the space left by the closure of Jackson's Star Market, which served as the anchor of the shopping center from when it was built in 1989 until 2009. Likewise, the company enlarged its footprint in New England by acquiring locations vacated by Ames when it went bankrupt in 2002.

The opening of Ocean State Job Lot has breathed new life into the shopping center. The New Hampshire Liquor Commission, which is building a new store in New Hampton, recently reversed its decision to close the Meredith store and will continue to lease 8,000 square feet, alongside Louie's Famous Pizza, Carter Mountain Flooring and Design, Garden Island Dry Cleaners and Unique Ambiance Hair Studio. A branch of Meredith Village Savings Bank is housed in a free-standing building at the center.