Norwalk's Sears Hometown Store closing

NORWALK — He started on his birthday. And when Jim Graves closes the door on the Sears Hometown Store on Main Street in Norwalk at the end of January, he'll close on his birthday. Sears Hometown Stores recently filed for bankruptcy and all of its remaining stores are closing. "Fourteen Years. It wasn't bad," Graves said earlier this month. "The first five, six years were good. Once Sears filed bankruptcy in 2017 it was only a matter of time before it happened. We were spun off, and he (owner Eddie Lampert) bought us back after the first bankruptcy, and it has been all downhill since." "It's just (expletive)-poor management. They want everything gone, sold, by the end of January. They don't want anything back." Tiger Liquidation is in charge of the sale, Graves said. This is how the company describes itself on Facebook. "Unlike other liquidation places (that) sell unwanted, used or damaged items, at Tiger Liquidation most of our items are brand new, shelf pulls and customer returns from major department stores. Expect to save up to 80% off of retail. From TVs and electronics to toys and jewelry, Tiger Liquidation is your source for saving." "There are 112 stores left, nationwide," Graves said. "I told them since I own my building, if you want to send anybody's stuff to me, I will sell it." Graves and his daughter, Tiffany, started together when the store opened in January 2009. "Two years ago, I told her my contract is up in the summer of 2024," Graves said. "I told Tiffany if you are not going to take the store over when I leave I said, 'You need to go find another job.' She said 'I don't want to run the store without you.' She went out and found a job at the hospital." Graves, who will turn 71 at the end of January, is retired from Ford Motor Co. He wasn't just a business owner. Jim Graves was the eyes and ears of Main Street for many people. "It hasn't sunk in yet," he said. So life will go on for Jim Graves, who said he would like to be a bus driver when the store closes. "Everybody wants bus drivers," he said with a laugh. So much for retirement.