Cowesett Corners Shopping Center, Warwick, RI

Welcome to Plazas, a series on my blog in which I examine shopping plazas, or strip malls, whatever you want to call them.

In this post, we'll examine the Cowesett Corners Shopping Center in Warwick, Rhode Island, a plaza with some retail history.

Let's go take a look;

300 Quaker Ln, Warwick, RI 02886

(Image via Google Earth)

This post is actually a bit different, because unof the other entries in my plazas series...

...I've actually been here in person.

But before we get into that let's learn the quick history of this plaza.

A brand new Super Stop & Shop supermarket was originally built and opened on the site in 1987, with newer tenants later opening as time went on, with the next tenant, Christmas Tree Shops, opening a year later in 1988.

The plaza wasn't as we know it today until the early 90's.

The main anchors of the plaza were;

- Super Stop & Shop, a popular chain of supermarkets,
- Builders Square, a chain of big box hardware stores that was acquired by discounter Kmart in 1984
- and Christmas Tree Shops, a chain of regional, home decoration stores.

1992 ad for Builders Square

(They were located next to Christmas Tree Shops, but Christmas Tree Store close enough I guess...)

Builders Square left the state seemingly as quickly as they came. They went out of business completely in 1999, however, they entered and exited the entire state of Rhode Island in the early 90's. Not lasting that long here at all.

This location in particular was opened in 1991, and was only open for a little over a year before closing in 1993.

*NOT the Warwick location
(Image via a Facebook post)

Now, I have no idea what the Warwick Builders Square location looked like, but I'm assuming it looked something like this

Mainly because of what might possibly be some of the original architecture?

It's still there to this day.

After Builders Square left, the building was taken over by discount chain Bradlees
(which was actually owned by Stop & Shop from 1961-1992.)

Bradlees lasted just about as long as Builders Square did. They originally opened here in 1994. The whole chain filed for bankruptcy a year later in 1995. In 1996, as a cost saving effort, Bradlees closed 12 unprofitable locations, including the chains only two stores in the state of Rhode Island.

But how exactly was this location 'underperforming'? It was right on the main road?

Well, keep in mind this was the mid 90's, where there were more options of places to shop at

The market might've been a bit over saturated

Let's say the year is 1995 and you need to buy something... Sure, you could go to Bradlees... or you could drive a little further... 

and go to to Kmart, a national retailer that everyone knew. 

Or maybe Apex, a local RI based chain that was well respected.

Or what about Ann & Hope, they've been operating in Warwick since 1961.

Ames had a location in Warwick that was closed in early 1990. Luckily for them, they had another location in Cranston, right on the Warwick border

One might think that Bradlees had an advantage on the market, because they were more 'nicer' and upscale, and Target didn't operate here yet... but the Warwick Mall already had a Caldor since 1983, another retailer that was considered to be upscale.

Also keep in mind, Ames opened in 1990 (after acquiring Zayre), Kmart originally opened in 1972 before moving to a better location across the street in 1993, Caldor has been there since '83, Ann & Hope since '62, and Apex has probably been there since the 70's.

So to answer the question on how exactly the Bradlees store was considered 'underperforming,' they came to the area too late with too much competition.

Here's a photo that I actually found showing the INSIDE of the Bradlees location in Warwick!!
(Faces blurred for privacy)

I found this photo on Facebook a month or so back. Currently, it's the only known photo of the store that exists.

Taking a closer look at the photo, I noticed a few things...

First off, it would appear that this was one of the rare stores to get the newer décor and sign package

That signage package wasn't all that common for Bradlees, most locations had the signage seen on the right.

Next thing I noticed was the warehouse ceiling, that was very uncommon for discounters at the time, especially Bradlees. Although, a warehouse ceiling is extremely common for big box hardware stores... you know, chains such as Home Depot, Lowes, and of course... Builders Square. So it's quite possible (and im also assuming) that the ceiling was unchanged from the Builders Square days.

The last thing I noticed were the register lights, which were also part of the new décor package.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that the Warwick Bradlees was one of the more newer, nicer locations, even though it wasn't around for that long.

(Fun fact: a distant relative of mine (who've I've unfortunately never met) actually used to work at this store in the short time span that it was open)

Anyway back to the main plaza,

There was also a Hallmark store somewhere in the plaza too, though I'm not exactly sure what happened to it or what's there now

The same thing can be said about Edwards Paint And Decorating Centers...

Candle Outlet also popped up in the plaza sometime in 1999 it seems

Can't forget about the Novel Place Bookstore either...

A view of what the plaza looked like in the early 2000's

After Bradlees closed it was quickly subdivided into four different tenants;
- The Furniture Warehouse, a small, local chain of furniture stores
- Babies "R" Us, a chain of baby supply stores, a clear division of the well known Toys "R" Us chain
- A.C. Moore, a chain of arts & crafts stores
- And IParty, a chain of party supply stores

Elsewhere in the plaza, The Fabric Store closed and Petco moved in, relocating from an older store further down the street on Bald Hill Rd.

The entire FuncoLand chain went out of business in 2000, after all locations were later rebranded as GameStop.

I'm not sure when Stop & Shop built their gas station, or how long Sleepy's and Citizens Bank (which isn't in the photo) has been there, but I'm assuming that it's somewhere around this time.

Edit: Citizens Bank apparently opened in 1989

Edit: An anonymous source has informed me that Stop & Shop also expanded around this time, specifically before 2008, tearing down a former neighbor tenant in the process

With said neighbor tenant most likely being Edwards Paints

Or maybe it was Mail Boxes Etc... as they apparently had a store somewhere in the plaza.

Funny thing is, Mail Boxes Etc. was acquired by the UPS Store, yet there's none of said UPS Stores to be found

Some more changes in tenants would later be seen a few years later.

IParty went out of business in 2012, after being acquired by Party City

Sleepy's went out of business in 2015, after being acquired by competitor Mattress Firm.

RadioShack eventually closed their location here, and the space was later taken up my Moe's Southwest Grill, a chain of restaurants.

And The Furniture Warehouse would later change their name to The Furniture Depot, same store, slight name change.

...And here's what the plaza looked like when I was originally writing this post back in 2023.

eems like a lot of vacant spaces, don't it? Believe it or not, that only really applies to the former Builders Square / Bradlees Building. The Stop & Shop portion has very few empty tenants, and they're very much an "out of sight , out of mind" type thing. They're not really noticeable unless you go out looking for them. Not to mention that Stop & Shop location is always busy.

Alright, enough with the history lesson, lets actually take a look at the plaza.

Photo from April of 2018.

This Babies "R" Us location was part of a January 2018 Toys "R" Us store closings list. If I remember correctly, before those store closures even began, the whole company threw in the towel and went out of business.

A.C. Moore closed their location here in June of 2019

The entire company went out of business a few months later in November 2019, though some locations somehow lasted until July of 2020.

Photos from January of 2020.

IParty was later converted into a Party City location
(Photo from February 2019)

Party City later moved up the street, taking up part of a former Linens 'N' Things location
(Photo from October of 2018)

Here's what the relocated Party City currently looks like

A.C. Moore & Party City when they were both still open
(Google Street View 2015)

Photo of the store as IParty
(Google Street View 2008)

Here's some *ahem* "excellent" photos I took of the abandoned Babies "R" Us in August 2018, shortly after the chains closing.

The building was later taken up by a seasonal pop up Halloween store, for two years in a row

These photos are from October of 2018.

Original Babies "R" Us signage

They covered up most of the other signage with orange sheets

Someone didn't pick up their fixtures... or maybe it wasn't sold

More original fixtures from Babies "R" Us

What appears to be a shopping cart that was left behind.

In March of 2019, I found this Babies "R" Us shopping cart, outside of the store, pretty much in the parking lot. I haven't seen it since. (And no, I didn't take it)

Also from March of 2019.

Here's the former A.C. Moore in October of 2019.

Speaking of which, you know what else was here in October of 2019?

A Halloween store, in the former Babies "R" Us location, again.

Also, not to mention it's a completely different pop up store than last year.

Be warned, as my photo taking skills at the time were pretty... crappy.

When I first walked in through the door, I was immediately greeted with some rebranded shopping carts and handbaskets.

At first, I got a bit excited seeing this thinking that this was an old Bradlees shopping cart, it wasn't. 

Doing some further investigation, I have made the conclusion that this shopping cart was not from Bradlees, nor even a discount chain, rather, it was from The Toy Works, a chain of toy stores that were eventually acquired by KB Toys.

...That's not even the right Halloween store

They also had these rebranded handbaskets, not sure where they were from though, the brand name started with a "C" and ended with an "S"

I remember Toys "R" Us having these lights, so I assumed that these were original from Babies "R" Us, but these same lights can also be seen in the Bradlees photo

Oh hey look a photo that's not blurry

Making my way towards the back end of the store, I found this old A.C. Moore shopping cart.

I also came across the back storage rooms to the Halloween store, which was actually just the further back wall of Babies "R" Us.

Original purple stripe on the floor.

More leftover fixtures.

A leftover shopping cart behind an original purple checkout counter.

Inflatable decorations and more unsold fixtures sitting in the breezeway.

Ok, now its time to take a look at the only open store left in this part of the plaza (at the time), The Furniture Depot.

These photos are from September of 2021.

Something about these pictures feels weirdly... liminal...

Weird how they had these types of ceiling lights mixed in with all the other lights.

I don't know what this is, or what it was used for.

Edit: I found some photos online of the East Hanover, NJ Bradlees, which opened the same year and had a similar warehouse style ceiling

Looking at the photos, it appears that box held the security cameras.

Older photo from when it was called The Furniture Warehouse
(Google Street View 2008)

Back in June of 2019, I was in the furniture store looking around when I had to use the bathroom, luckily they had one that I could use. Now, I don't usually take photos inside of bathrooms for obvious reasons, but while I was there, my eyes darted up, and I noticed something, a missing ceiling tile...

And within the space, torn cardboard, in the color of Red...
Which was the same signature color used by... Bradlees

Remember earlier when I was talking about the newer Bradlees décor package that this store used? This is a weird exception to that... why? Well, every store had this specific pattern on the wall, no matter if it was remodeled or not.

I decided to somewhat look into it...

Ok I know I look like a conspiracy theorist who's out of his mind with this but i'm trying to prove a point

I tried to take a closer look at it again on a few different occasions, but every time I went back to that furniture store, the bathrooms were out of order.

(...But we'll get back onto this topic later...)

And the last tenant in this small strip of stores,

Christmas Tree Shops, who has been here since 1988.

These photos are from September of 2021.

Christmas Tree Shops sold many closeouts, which includes old Walmart branded things

News broke that Christmas Tree Shops would be going out of business, and closing all of their stores in July of 2023.

I went there on July 6th, the first day of the liquidation sale

There was no "going out of business" or "store closing" signage, but shelves were already starting to look bare and the store was packed with people looking for good deals and bargains.

Interesting mix of products

I went back to the store on the 20th, which was apparently the last 10 days for the store. It was more empty and quite possibly more packed than the last time.

Here's what the plaza looked like that day

These photos are from July 6th, 2023

Here are some red parking polls

Not sure if these are from Bradlees or just a coincidence (judging by the red color)

There was some trash scattered around this area, including a whole wooden Pallet

I started off from the right side, beginning with the former IParty / Party City building.

I was caught a bit off guard by this half a mannequin leg

Looks pretty much the same as it did in 2018, just a bit... darker.

Even for a store moving sale?

Almost every entrance has this red light on the top of it

Next up was A.C. Moore

The original cart corral is still in place

With no carts, and looks like a car smashed into it

I didn't notice this until after I took the photo but the lights to the backroom were still left on...

They accept these forms of payment, if only there was something to buy

Looking through the window of the breezeway and the only thing you can really see is a reflection of the outside world

:)

Babies "R" Us was still here, they were the only closed business in the entire plaza that didn't take down their signs

Don't make this political.

The paint is starting to peel

The place is still in really great shape

A Christmas Tree Shops shopping cart somehow got in there

The orange banner covering up the signs, still leftover from those Halloween stores of years past.

Spray painted arrows on the floor

...Is that fixture still for sale?

The building was also used as a pop up arts & crafts fair for a few months

The last thing I looked at here was the side of the buidling

I was looking on Google Street View one day when I thought I saw something here so I went to check it out

I edited the photo to further prove my point

Ok, now this might be a bit of a stretch, but hear me out,

Yes, I know your probably sick of hearing about Bradlees, but I just feel like I need to bring this up really quickly. Now, I don't know if I'm just seeing things but the first time I saw this (again on street view before I actually went and took this photo myself) I could've sworn that I saw a Bradlees label scar

But the longer I looked at it the more I saw just a grid pattern, so maybe it wasn't a Bradlees labelscar?

I mean, that is kind of a weird place to put a big sign for your department store, no?

After looking at this image (along with the Google Street View variation) and messing with it trying to bring out the labelscar that may or may not even be there, my conclusion is inconclusive. It looks like there is a slight Bradlees labelscar there but the grid pattern covers it, making it even harder to identify. Almost as if both of them are blending together.

I'm not saying that is a genuine Bradlees labelscar, I'm just saying that I kind of see one, though my eyes could be 'playing tricks on me' so to speak.

Ok enough with this portion of the plaza, lets take a break from talking about Bradlees, and finally, take a look at what else this plaza has to offer.

Starting off from the far left side of the plaza, we are greeted with a Five Guys restaurant, with outdoor seating and all.

Next up is 5 Below

Here are some photos I took in 2019 before the store remodeled

This store might've originally been 'Master Pieces,' as they have advertised to have been next to Fabric Place

No seriously, there was formally a store located in the plaza that went under the non-descriptive name of "Fabric Place"

Another Christmas Tree Shops shopping cart

This used to be Fabric Place
(I wasn't able to get a picture showing the front of the store, so here's one from Google Street View)

Old Petco cart corral

After that is Oak Street Health (formerly Fashion Bug) and the Armed Forces Career Center

After that is the Blue Cross / Blue Shield Blue Store
(What do they even sell here?)

Sally Beauty Supply, a staple in outdoor shopping plazas, was also able to join the party.

This used to be Courtesy Cleaners

...Well that's not comforting... that's a bit eerie really... kinda reminds me of the backrooms...

Here's a photo of what it looked like when it was open
(Via Google Street View, 2008)

This was formally GNC

Google Street View, 2015

Google Street View, 2018

Menchie's is gone too, also The Edge never opened here
(I think its a pop up location to advertise their new location on Bald Hill Rd.)
(Image via Google Street view, 2019)

Menchie's plaza sign

For people who don't know what Menchie's is, I've personally never heard of it either

They appear to be a yogurt bar type place.

I think you mean this location *was* a certified Menchie's franchise.

The space was was formerly D'angelo's, a chain of sandwich restaurants somewhat similar to Subway.
(Google Street View, 2008) 

Ah, yes, the main tenant of Cowesett Corners, ever since the beginning, Stop & Shop supermarkets!

This Super Stop & Shop has everything!

- A deli

- A seafood department

-A Pharmacy...

A Citizens Bank...

...Even though theres already one right across the store in the same shopping center...

No seriously, this plaza technically has 2 branches of the same bank, right across from each other

Here's some photos that I took of Stop & Shop before it was remodeled.

I took this photo in June (of 2020), I don't know why exactly they chose random Christmas lights in the month of June, but alright

Honestly, that a fact

Book display

Old in-store displays

...I'm pretty sure this is from the 80's

I'm pretty sure this clock is also from the 80's

More old store displays

Liver lobster, unless your a local from the area, than they're live lobstah

...Still pretty sure that this is from the 80's

Cool night time photo

Here's a quick look at what the store looked like after a fresh remodel July of 2019, it still currently looks like this.

When I went there that night they just had no lettuce for some reason

I'm assuming that they had no lettuce because the cooler was new and just installed?

...Since 19 what?

The remodel was so new when I went that it wasn't even completely finished yet

Store with older signage
(Google Street View 2008)

Photo of the store before it was remodeled on the outside, also with even older signage than the photo seen above.
(Image via Loopnet)

More closely zoomed in image of the previous

Stop & Shop Gas Station, along side the current look of the supermarket
(Google Street View 2022)

Next to Stop & Shop is a Miracle Ear hearing aid center

It was once a Western Union Financial Center
(Google Street View 2008)

After that is another vacant space, this one specifically is the former Bald Hill Walk In.

This building here was once home to the states first and only FuncoLand store

It has since met the fate of all the other FuncoLand locations, turning to the hands of GameStop

Next to that is a local nail place, which I wasn't able to get a picture of, so heres one from Google Street View (2019)

It used to be an Uncle Tony's Pizza restaurant

All the way at the other end of the plaza was Moe's Southwest Grill
(Google Street View 2015)

The place has been pretty much untouched since they closed

Used to be a good old RadioShack location
(Google Street View 2008)

Plaza sign in 2011
(Google Street View)

2018
(Google Street View)

Other plaza sign in 2011
(Google Street View)

2017 with updated Babies "R" Us sign
(Google Street View)

Here's a photo that I managed to take in late May of 2019 of them doing work on the sign, if you look in the backround not only can you see Babies "R" Us, but you can see A.C. Moore, with the sign still on the building.

The Babies "R" Us sign was removed, and the Stop & Shop sign was also eventually updated. I think that "we are open" banner was put up during Covid, yet I also think that its still there. Also, looking at the pervious photo, it appears that they quite literally took down all of the signs just to put most of them back up?
(Google Street View 2021)

Sleepy's alongside other businesses
(Google Street View, 2015)

Former Sleepy's, currently a Mattress Firm location

Local restaurant next to Mattress Firm

And last, but not least,

Applebee's has been operating a restaurant here since 1989
(Google Street View 2018)

Update (1/30/24): Somethings opening soon in the former Babies "R" Us, or the 2 stores next to it, or both, I couldn't really tell. I only saw from the road that the was fenced off. I think there's a sign that says somethings coming soon, but I couldn't see it. I'm 80% sure it said Floor & Decor, which doesn't have any stores in the state at the moment. The Christmas Tree shops and Furniture store are still there too, with no apparent plans for the former CTS.

Update (2/7/24): Still havent had a chance to make it out to the plaza yet, but I drove by it again and the Furniture Depot has decided to permanently close. I suspect that after the entire store closes, that entire strip is gonna be torn down for Floor & Decor.

Update (2/9/24) I went and paid the plaza a re-visit...

Turns out I was apparently right, Floor & Decor is coming soon

They have over 200 stores in more than 30 states

None in Rhode Island though... yet

They're taking over (most likely demolishing) the buildings formally occupied by IParty / Party City, A.C. Moore, and Babies "R" Us

Or at least... most of the Babies "R" Us building? They didn't fence off the entire thing, just a little past the entrance

The Furniture Depot decided to close their location here

...But before we get to that

...Let's take a look and see what once was

Weird place to put a bench... facing directly at the wall

The store hours appear to be accurate lol

I don't know why they boarded up the right wall. I'm not sure if there was always boards there, just covered by shelving, or if that was put in after the store closed. One thing I do know, however, is that for some reason, they boarded up the doors leading to the bathrooms, but not the stock rooms.

Some of the lights in the back are still on

Nothing left here except for some signs of where the cash registers once were

I've been inside of this store several times when it was still open, so to see it like this, even only through an uncovered window, it's just kinda... eerie

Anyway, let's move on to the last one standing, the final outlier in this entire strip of stores

Extra, leftover boxes

Wall decor

What would you rather have in your house, a large sound system, or a fireplace? Why not both?

Ok, so remember earlier how I brought up this photo that I took in 2019, saying that "I tried to take a closer look at it again on a few different occasions, but every time I went back to that furniture store, the bathrooms were out of order."

Well, at the day of the store closing sale, I went to the store, and...

...It was still out of order.

But it wasn't locked

With the store closing, and my curiosity peaking every time I walked in here, I hesitantly reached for the door knob, and...

I was in

It was pitch black in there, I guess they shut the lights off since they went out of order. Luckily, thanks to the innovation of modern technology, the flash on my phone's camera worked just fine, and got the job done There was however, a small source of light, natural looking light it seems... coming from the ceiling

There is it. The one piece of wall decor that's pondered me for a few years now. Still there, 5 years after I took the original photo

Yup...

That's Definitely left over wall decor from Bradlees!!

This store was only open from 1994-1996, yet 24 years later, after 4 sub divisions and multiple tenants coming and going, some of the original wall decor still stands!

One of the more lesser-known Bradlees locations (compared to other stores within the company) and yet, It's one of the only few which still had remnants from it's past.

Yes, photos weren't enough, I just had to take a video

Peeking through

Back on the main sales floor,

Some empty spots, where furniture once was, are starting to show.

Not sure what this was

Or if it was once part of Bradlees

This was part of Bradlees, though

I know I already mentioned these old security camera holders, but It's still interesting just to see how much of Bradlees was still untouched, even after all those years later

Various updates:

4/12/24:

More work is being done for Floor & Decor

They already put the sign up for the center itself

4/17/24:

The tiles underneath the Babies "R" Us logo have since been removed

I decided to pay one last visit to The Furniture Depot

The funny thin about this visit is that, while the front half of the store was still absolutely filled to the brim with furniture

The back half was nothing but deserted emptiness

It almost felt weirdly limianl in a way

I know I said that earlier even when the store was under normal (non-closing) operations, but this place always had the vibe for some reason... or at least I always thought so

4/26/24:

Low quality photo but the top half design of the former Babies "R" Us building has since been removed, as well as their sign, with the labelscar from the older logo showing up underneath.

In this photo you can see The Furniture Depot sign, but that also has since been removed.

Some more things to mention is that Floor & Decor might not even demolish the main entrance, my guess is that they're just going to leave it the way it currently is and repaint it. The two other parcels to the right side are probably a different story, those will most likely be removed and bricked over.

It also looks like the old Furniture Depot and Christmas Tree Shops buildings are still for sale, it is currently unknown if Floor & Decor will eventually take over those two former tenant spaces.

7/10/24:

Well, It's been kind of a while, but I'm back to pay the plaza another revisit.

This is... unexpected.

Floor & Decor isn't even using the fromer Babies "R" Us building for their front entrance. Instead, they decided to use the former A.C. Moore and Party City buildings respectively, and combine them into one main entrance.

The front of the Babies "R" Us building is boarded up too, so will they actually be using that building or not?

You can see to the left the former Furniture Depot store, with their "Store Closing Sale" banner hanging up above the main entrance, despite the store already being closed

News broke today that the former Christmas Tree Shops building found a new tenant, and that tenant... Ocean State Job Lot.

If you know anything about Job Lot, you'd know that they almost never remodel the exterior of their buildings, almost all of which previously being something else.

This press release from Job Lot themselves states that "Additional tenants are scheduled to open in the coming months." Hinting at the possibility of there being another new tenant already lined up to take over the former Furniture Depot building.

11/11/24

The former Christmas Tree Shops building is being remodeled to make room for the new Ocean State Job Lot

Both the interior and exterior of the building is being worked on

Former Furniture Depot

Floor & Decor opened a few months ago

...Not sure why they didn't use the main Babies "R" Us building as their entrance

I haven't been inside of Floor & Decor, but I'm assuming that they're using this space

Hmm...

Floor & Decor removed the pointed tops from the Babies Us facade, but other than that the building remains largely unchanged

Former Party City store entrance

The entire building has since been repainted

As for the rest of the plaza not much has really changed

The entire strip of stores got a fresh coat of paint some months ago

And the former RadioShack / Moe's Southwest Grill has since been repurposed as a Honey Baked Ham

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, that seems about it for the Cowessett Corners Shopping Center, an unassuming plaza in the middle of Rhode Island, with some retail lore behind it.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it :)