[ajsanjua]

On vacation to Yellowstone, I encountered this strange and extremely small Kmart in Cody, WY. Apart from the minuscule size, the building was also constructed out of corrugated steel and with a sloped roof giving it a structure not unlike an oversized utility shed. The interior was dark and lonely, with only two workers visible at the registers. The milk cooler had only one mashed up gallon jug and a moldy box of baking soda, and the rest of the food section was barely stocked. The garden shop was probably little more than a fenced-in concrete slab of 8' x 12'.

I'd say that the store was vintage 70s, and yes, it had the brown floor tiles and gigantic air vents that all Kmarts of the era had. Wish I took pictures of the interior, as the place was entirely deserted. The only customers were my parents and I.

Would this qualify as one of the smallest Kmarts ever? (Doesn't even deserve the BIG prefix...)

Exterior picture (taken on the fly and earlier in the day than our visit)
-Compare it to the McDonald's for scale

[ajsanjua]

Sorry about the large picture size. I don't have a photo editor to crop it down.

[lvkewlkid]

it doesn't even have the archway front that KMarts are known for...

[Jeff]

Looking at an overhead on Google Maps, it looks to be the size of a small market, maybe 25k sq ft or slightly bigger.

[krogerclerk]

This is a small town prototype from the late 70's-early 80's. There was once one in South Pittsburg, TN almost on the TN-AL border.
It closed in the mid-90's, after the arrival of Wal-Mart. The Harriman, TN Kmart of the same prototype survived until the bankruptcy and shared the center with a small Kroger greenhouse that has since relocted to a fairly large store, cir. 85k sq. ft.

These are called Butler buildings and are pre-fab. They represent the first wave of Kmarts to build in towns of fewer than 10k population. This example is smaller than the two I named, they are probably closer to the 40k sq. ft. range. Also, some former Grant's/Grant City locations that became Kmart were smaller than the typical Kmart, but those stores look nothing like a Kmart.
LaFayette, GA former Grant's comes to mind, and is presenlty a BiLo supermarket.

[wnetmacman]

I'd be willing to bet that this Kmart has a store number in the 9xxx format. The 9xxx stores were 40-60k square feet, and mostly built in small towns with populations of 25,000 and under. They were built in three formats: butler (metal) buildings, masonry construction, or mall anchor. The latter two both had auto centers in their small footprints as well as a complete inventory, stuffed into a smaller format. About the only thing these stores usually didn't have was a full scale cafeteria. Some of the stores had a deli in the front, but not all.

The 3xxx stores were usually 80,000 sq ft stores with full amenities. The 4000 stores were 88,000 and above stores with attached food centers, and the 7xxx stores were 75,000 sq ft stores, also with full amenities.

[ajsanjua]

I'd be willing to bet that this Kmart has a store number in the 9xxx format. The 9xxx stores were 40-60k square feet, and mostly built in small towns with populations of 25,000 and under.

That's right. The Cody, WY Kmart had no food service of any kind, nor a pharmacy. As with all other Kmarts, the clothing section took up half the store. Following was (left side to right) stationery, The Pantry (2 aisles), then seasonal merchandise/automotive and garden shop (outside) Health and Beauty section was sandwiched between the Garden Shop and the (I think) 2 (?) front registers plus the Customer Service desk. I didn't explore the rear of the store and its layout.

[runchadrun]

This doesn't really count, but the first Kmart was a concept store that was a converted Kresge in San Fernando, CA, at the corner of Rinaldi and Laurel Canyon. It was only 24,000 square feet. It's now a dd's discounts.

Some more info at http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot. ... -days.html (It doesn't mention the exact location, but was able to track it down.)

[Jeff]

This doesn't really count, but the first Kmart was a concept store that was a converted Kresge in San Fernando, CA, at the corner of Rinaldi and Laurel Canyon. It was only 24,000 square feet. It's now a dd's discounts.

Some more info at http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot. ... -days.html (It doesn't mention the exact location, but was able to track it down.)

I notice on a Windows Live Local view, that the store had a weird shape and what looks to me to be an outdoor garden area in the back. It also looks as if part of the store was subdivided into something else, with the doors leading to this garden area there.

[tesg]

Webster City, Iowa, has a still-operating K-Mart identical to this one today.

I haven't been inside to see what the interior looks like.

[submariner]

Score. here's a good shot of one of the Kmart "shack" stores on Flickr... this one is a closed one in Douglas, AZ:
Full size: http://www.flickr.com/photos/djcn0te/30 ... 76282@N25/

[dooneyt63]

Lake Wales, FL, had a store like this. It was closed in the first round of bankruptcy closings. The stores almost had the feel of the new standalone Dollar General stores, albeit in a somewhat larger, more well-stocked format. This style building was often placed on a lot in a lesser desirable commercial area. As stated already, many departments were small or missing entirely from this format. These were obviously forays into areas Kmart had previously deemed way too small for their own stores.

[TenPoundHammer]

I'd be willing to bet that this Kmart has a store number in the 9xxx format. The 9xxx stores were 40-60k square feet, and mostly built in small towns with populations of 25,000 and under. They were built in three formats: butler (metal) buildings, masonry construction, or mall anchor. The latter two both had auto centers in their small footprints as well as a complete inventory, stuffed into a smaller format. About the only thing these stores usually didn't have was a full scale cafeteria. Some of the stores had a deli in the front, but not all.

The 3xxx stores were usually 80,000 sq ft stores with full amenities. The 4000 stores were 88,000 and above stores with attached food centers, and the 7xxx stores were 75,000 sq ft stores, also with full amenities.

My local store is #9593. Initially, it was indeed very small, maybe 45K square feet. It was expanded in the early 1990s and is now the size of a "normal" Kmart (about 90K) with a Kmart cafe and all. I don't remember what it was like before the remodel, but since the early 1990s it's had a green latticework thngy shaped like this:

/\
| |

at the entrance. The only other place I've seen one of these is at the now-closed Kmart in Charlotte, Michigan, only theirs was red.

I haven't seen it in a while, but I think that the one in Grayling, Michigan looks like the Douglas, Arizona one pictured here. West Branch, Michigan used to have one just like this. That same shape is still VERY obvious in the Tractor Supply Company now in that building. The newer Kmart, next door, is in an odd brown format that looks a lot like an Ames, although I have no evidence that Ames ever had a store in West Branch (it's not in any of the phone books I have).