New Store to Open at Former Toys R Us Site in Johnson City

A retail chain based in Rhode Island has purchased an unused building on Harry L. Drive in Johnson City where it plans to open a new store.

Ocean State Job Lot recently acquired the property at 416 Harry L. Drive. It had been home to a Toys R Us/Babies R Us store until the spring of 2018. Toys R Us opened at the site nearly three decades earlier.

A spokeswoman for Ocean State Job Lot said the company intends to use the entire 45,255-square-foot building.

In recent weeks, remaining equipment from the former Toys R Us store was removed from the site.

A view inside the former Toys R Us store on Harry L. Drive. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

According to the company, hiring is underway for the new store. The target date for opening has not been announced but it's expected to be sometime this spring.

Ocean State Job Lot operates more than 140 stores in New York, Pennsylvania and in other states in the northeastern U.S. The closeout retailer opened its first store in Rhode Island in 1977.

The company has opened stores at several former Toys R Us locations in recent years.

Plans for the new store in Johnson City were first reported by WICZ Fox 40.

Old cash registers were moved to the parking lot of the former Toys R Us store in Johnson City on February 8, 2021. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)