The Death of Ohio Retail? Massive Store Closures Confirmed for 2026

Here is the breakdown of the retail shakeup hitting Ohio in 2026.

The Hometown Heartbreak: Big Lots

The most significant story of 2026 is the rapid shrinking of Big Lots. Headquartered in Columbus, the discount retailer’s bankruptcy filing has triggered a massive wave of closures that disproportionately affects its home state.

• The Impact: Dozens of "neighborhood" locations—from Centerville and West Chester to Defiance and Sandusky—have shuttered.
• The Consequence: Unlike a generic chain closing, Big Lots often served as a primary furniture and grocery outlet for Ohio’s working-class suburbs. These closures are leaving massive, hard-to-fill box stores empty in strip malls that cannot afford to lose their anchor.

The Macy's Retreat: Targeting the Suburbs

Macy's "Bold New Chapter" strategy (closing 150 stores by 2026) has landed heavy blows on Ohio's secondary markets.

• The Confirmed Exits: The retailer has listed locations at Fairfield Commons (Beavercreek) and Franklin Park (Toledo) for closure.
• The "Watch List": Anxiety is high at Great Northern Mall (North Olmsted), where rumors of closure have persisted among employees. If Macy's leaves Great Northern, it would be a devastating blow to one of Cleveland's last remaining stable west-side malls.

The "Zombie Mall" of Columbus: Tuttle Crossing

While Easton Town Center and Polaris continue to thrive as "fortress malls," the Mall at Tuttle Crossing serves as the grim warning for the rest of the state.

• The Status: Plagued by foreclosure filings and a revolving door of ownership, Tuttle has become a shell. In 2026, the vacancy rate has soared as major national tenants flee, leaving the concourses largely empty or filled with temporary local vendors.
• The Future: Urban planners are already discussing "de-malling" the site—tearing it down to build mixed-use apartments or data centers—marking the potential end of an era for Dublin/Hilliard shoppers.

The Pharmacy Deserts: The Rite Aid Aftermath

No state felt the collapse of Rite Aid quite like Ohio.

• The Reality: Following the chain's total liquidation, Northeast Ohio is reeling. Cities like Akron, Canton, and suburban Cleveland have lost dozens of corner pharmacies.
• The Crisis: This has created immediate "pharmacy deserts." Residents who walked to their local Rite Aid for decades are now forced to drive to overburdened CVS or Walgreens locations, where wait times for prescriptions have skyrocketed due to the sudden influx of displaced patients.

The Rural Squeeze

In Ohio's rural counties—places like Meigs, Pike, and Adams—the closure of Family Dollar stores is cutting a vital lifeline.

• The "Grocery" Gap: In many small Ohio towns, Family Dollar effectively served as the grocery store. As these 1,000+ national closures take effect in 2026, rural residents are facing 20-minute drives just to buy milk or laundry detergent.

If you live near Easton (Columbus) or Crocker Park (Westlake), you are seeing new luxury stores and booming crowds. But for the rest of the state—especially the neighborhoods that relied on Big Lots, Rite Aid, and the local mall—the lights are going out, leaving behind empty parking lots and a difficult question: Where do we go now?