Ohio
Big Lots closing stores nationwide. Are Ohio locations still open? What we know
See which 13 Big Lots stores are closing in Arizona
Big Lots is closing dozens of stores nationwide, including some in Arizona.
Fox – 10 Phoenix
Big Lots announced plans to close 35-40 stores this year, following a June 13 bankruptcy filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The discount chain, headquartered in Columbus, cited “elevated inflation” and a significant decrease in consumer spending as reasons behind the closures. According to the filing from Big Lots, “In 2024, the U.S. economy has continued to face macroeconomic challenges, including elevated inflation, which has adversely impacted the buying power of our customers,” the company stated.
Big Lots has 102 Ohio locations and currently operates more than 1,350 stores in the U.S., down from 1,425 in early 2023.
Plans to shut down dozens of stores remain underway, but the company intended to open three more locations, according to the bankruptcy filing.
Here’s what we know about the fate of Big Lots’ Ohio locations.
Are Ohio Big Lots locations closing?
Ohio Big Lots stores appear to be safe for now, based on the company website. While the company has not released a full list of store closures, none of Ohio’s 102 locations were listed as closing, which is marked by banners on the webpages as “Closing this location.”
Where are Big Lots stores in Ohio?
Ohio is No. 4 in the nation for the number of Big Lots stores with 102, behind Texas (116), California (109) and Florida (106). The discount chain has two locations in Akron, one in Canton, five in Cincinnati and five in Columbus, according to its website.
Additionally, Big Lots operates several stores in Toledo and Cleveland and has many locations near Ohio’s biggest cities, including Dublin, Grove City, Blue Ash, Milford, Middletown, Miamisburg, Mentor and Beachwood.
Big Lots also has 40 locations in Kentucky, including in Covington and Newport near Cincinnati.
Surge in bankruptcies
June saw the highest level of bankruptcies since the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, according to a report by the Wall Street firm S&P Global.
This year’s bankruptcies have totaled 346, “higher than any comparable figure in the prior 13 years,” S&P said. “High interest rates, supply chain issues and slowing consumer spending continue to weigh on struggling companies,” the note states.
From March 2022 to July 2023, the Fed hiked its key interest rate from near zero to a range of 5.25% to 5%, a 23-year high, in an effort to tame a pandemic-induced inflation spike.
Recent reports underscore that inflation eased notably in May, with a key measure the Fed follows closely at 2.6%. That’s above the Fed’s 2% goal but the lowest since March 2021 and down from a peak of 5.6% in mid-2022.
But Jerome Powell, who chairs the Federal Reserve, has maintained a cautious stance about lowering rates since inflation unexpectedly picked up in the first quarter following a significant slowdown last year.
Ohio
Lorain woman killed, three children injured in Ohio Turnpike crash in Elyria (UPDATED)
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Ohio
Licking County real estate transfers for June 1-5, 2026, hit $865,000
Real estate transfers in Licking County, Ohio, range from $85,000 to $865,000
The following are property transfers recorded in Licking County from June 1-5, 2026.
First name indicates the seller; second name represents the buyer
Buckeye Lake
- 502 Providence Lane; Cohagen, Christopher C and Lori A; Adams, Jeffrey L and Boyce-Adams, Jo Anna; 6/1/2026; $511,000
- 131 Cranberry Lane; Smart, Amy and Kidwell, Kevin K; Sew and Minor, Christian; 6/1/2026; $262,000
Etna Township
- 116 Cameron Drive SW; Ray, Erica L; Darjee, Sanjay and Laxmi and Dil; 6/2/2026; $412,000
- 119 Kraner St. SW; Adkins, Zane and Amy; Culbertson, Brenton Howard; 6/1/2026; $368,500
- 160 Dusky Willow Drive; Willow Reserve LLC; Martin, Alaina K; 6/2/2026; $290,940
Granville
- 119 Derwyn Del Way; Lifer, David C and Julia H; Martin, Michael and Lisa; 6/1/2026; $865,000
- 39 Victoria Drive; Acton, Wendy S and Paul J; Cannon, Matthew Evan and Zywica, Natalie Nicole; 6/2/2026; $835,000
Granville Township
- 49 Alberry Drive; Halliday, Lucas and Breayne; Howe, Jason and Kathryn; 6/2/2026; $570,000
Harrison Township
- 102 Whirlaway Loop; Rice, Dawn (Trustee); Bope, Maria and Shane; 6/2/2026; $420,000
Heath
- 1306 Kacey Court; Fischer Homes Columbus II LLC; Owens, Blake Andrew and Taylor Marie; 6/2/2026; $437,779
- 805 Fieldson Drive; Flowers, Ingrit; Harder, Noah C; 6/2/2026; $250,000
Hebron
- 802 Cumberland Meadows Circle; Lines, Marlene S; Gerhart, Jamie A and Ralph W Jr; 6/2/2026; $232,000
Johnstown
- 101 Bigelow Drive; McGovern, Matthew S and Jennifer L; Sanford, Jessica; 6/2/2026; $442,500
Liberty Township
- 5844 Nichols Lane Road NW; La Jeunesse, Garth E and Debra; Nesselroad, William Heath and Annie; 6/1/2026; $629,000
- 7211 Northridge Road NW; Devault, Robert E Jr and Joann; Esbenshade, Travis M and Lowe, Shelby M; 6/1/2026; $495,000
Newark
- 2110 Overlook Way; D.R. Horton-Indiana LLC; Tarsha, Michele A; 6/1/2026; $433,335
- 1162 Taylor Ave.; Heath Fluid LLC; Anglada, Gabriel P and Salina T; 6/1/2026; $200,000
- 32 Postal Ave. W.; Palmisano, Phil; Moore, Dominic Michael and Miksich, Paige Elizabeth; 6/1/2026; $198,900
- 75 Gay St.; Velez, Marcos A; Camell, Campbell; 6/1/2026; $155,000
- 655 Evans St.; TNL; McRada Properties LLC; 6/1/2026; $145,000
- 63 Wallace St.; FDA Peachtree LLC; Burns, Amber L; 6/2/2026; $86,500
- 404 10th St.; Synergy Group Properties LLC; Busy Boys Restoration LLC; 6/2/2026; $85,000
Reynoldsburg
- 8447 Rodebaugh Road; Collins, Carol J; Thorpe, Kimberley Lynn and Henry, Steven; 6/2/2026; $340,000
Ohio
Court orders Ohio restrictions on kids’ use of social media restored
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s law requiring children under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps must be restored, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
The decision comes as a blow to NetChoice, which has won court victories against identical digital identification laws in other states, including Arkansas, Louisiana and Georgia. The trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies said the Ohio decision went against “clear national consensus” and that it intended to keep fighting.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” said Paul Taske, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center.
Netchoice brought suit against Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.
The Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel disagreed. In a 2-1 decision, it found that the law was not unconstitutional and sent it back to a lower court to have a block on the law’s enforcement vacated.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote in the lead opinion. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
Judge Alice Batchelder concurred, writing that “a statute is not vague just because it has a wide berth.”
Known as the Social Media Parental Notification Act, the Ohio law was part of an $86.1 billion state budget bill that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law in July 2023.
The administration pushed the measure as a way to protect children’s mental health, with then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, now a U.S. senator, saying at the time that social media was “intentionally addictive” and harmful to kids.
The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.
Republican Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson called Thursday’s ruling “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
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