Are Ames Department Stores Really Returning to Pennsylvania in 2023?

With 2023 just days away, we’ve learned about a new bit of nostalgia that could be coming to Pennsylvania in the new year.

An insanely popular ‘90s retailer could be returning to Pennsylvania in the new year for the first time since 2002.

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Ames Department Stores says they’ll be resurrecting the chain a bit. They posted a message on their website saying that “Ames Department Stores, Inc is returning in Spring 2023.”

And, yes, Pennsylvania is on its initial plans for stores in 2023. A spokesperson told NBC10 New Rhode Island (WJAR-TV) that stores will open in “Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania” when the chain first opens next year.

It wasn’t immediately clear where those stores would open in Pennsylvania.

So e’ve reached out to Ames for comment if the locations have been decided yet. We’ll update this story if they clarify.

They did, however, say on their Twitter account that the list of initial store locations would be released in February 2023. In addition, the grand opening dates are expected to be shared in March 2023.

Ames, which was headquartered in Connecticut, first opened stores in 1958. At the company’s peak, it operated approximately 700 stores (across 20 states), and it was actually the fourth largest retailer in the country.

Like many retailers at the time, however, they were plagued by slowing sales in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. They sold off many of their locations to competitors for the retail space.

And the remaining stores shuttered in 2002. At that time they were operating nearly half the number of stores as it was at its peak(approximately 327 stores in total), according to a report from CBSNews.com.

A majority of their stores in Pennsylvania were further west than the Philadelphia metro area. Locations included Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, and Butler, Pennsylvania, according to a fan site created for Ames stores. 

We’ll see if they expand into Eastern Pennsylvania with this new era for the chain.

It's unclear if New Jersey is a part of their plans in 2023, by the way.
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