Sears Sign Removed 4 Years After Closing

By the edhat staff

Nearly four years after shuttering, the SEARS signs from the massive retail space next to the La Cumbre Plaza has come down.

On November 6, Pip Marketing Signs Print of Goleta removed the decades old blue sign from the building at 3845 State Street.

“Shoppers and visitors passing by the site and seeing the removal of the signs were expressing nostalgia and telling stories of how they grew up shopping at Sears,” said Laurence Babahekian from PIP Printing Marketing and Signs.

Sears Holdings announced in November of 2018 their Santa Barbara Sears location will close along with 39 other Sears and Kmart locations. The struggling corporation filed for bankruptcy on October 15, 2018 with approximately 700 total stores in operation.

Four months prior to filing for bankruptcy, they announced 46 unprofitable stores would be closing, including the Kmart location in Goleta with 142 more stores planning to close.

As of today, the once brick and mortar retail giant now only has 188 stores open, with 19 of those in California. The closest open location is in Burbank.

After sitting empty for a few years, two businesses have taken up residence in the former department store. The entire ground floor has been leased to Mattress Mike and Miss Daisy’s Consignment and Auction House. The 60,000 square foot space is now a showroom containing mattresses, furnitures, antiques, and memorabilia.

The building will now be identified as “Furniture Gallery” by Mattress Mike. A new sign is scheduled to be installed by Pip Marketing Signs Print on Friday. This will be phase one of four total signs that will be installed on that same building façade within the next couple of weeks, said Babahekian.