Photo / Keith Luke
Shaw's Plaza is home to many consumer businesses.
June 23, 2025
Renys to move into former Big Lots store in Augusta
Photo / Keith Luke
Renys aims to open a store in Augusta this fall at 152 Western Ave., in a space formerly occupied by Big Lots.
Less than three months after Renys opened a store in Waterville, the discount retailer is aiming for a bigger footprint in central Maine with a 32,174-square-foot store in a former Big Lots.
In its new home at 152 Western Ave., the Newcastle-based business will join Dollar Tree, Planet Fitness and other consumer businesses at a shopping center anchored by Shaw’s.
“We wanted to be in Augusta for a long time,” John Reny, the company’s president, told Mainebiz by phone on Monday.
Ben Spencer, a senior vice president at Portland commercial real estate agency CORE, brokered the lease between Renys and the property owner, NNM Realty Trust.
Spencer said the lease is for 10 years with several renewal options.
"The space was only vacant for three to four months since being vacated by Big Lots," he explained. "I reached out to Renys directly as soon as Big Lots vacated as I believed they would be a great fit. We had offers from other retailers but Renys was the right choice."
CORE also recently renegotiated a lease for Renys in downtown Gardiner.
Timetable and hiring plans
Photo / Courtesy of Renys
John Reny, president of the retail chain Renys.
Renys, which expects to hire 30 to 40 employees in Augusta, aims to open the new store in September or October. Its Waterville store is located in a former JC Penney, at 60 Elm Plaza.
"Normally we wouldn’t open two stores in one year, but this came along and the deal was right to do it and to do it before Christmas,” Reny said.
Besides Waterville and Gardiner, Renys has stores in Bangor, Bath, Belfast, Bridgton, Camden, Dexter, Ellsworth, Farmington, Gardiner, Madison, Pittsfield, Saco, Topsham, Wells and Windham, and two in Damariscotta, close to its corporate warehouse and distribution center in Newcastle. The company has around 500 total employees.
Reny declined to elaborate on the company’s decision to close its store in Portland by years’ end.
'Good news all around'
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Keith Luke
Keith Luke, Augusta’s economic development director, said the city had been courting Renys for many years and welcomes the addition to “one of the busiest streets in the state," with development underway at the former Kmart Plaza.
“The fact that the commercial retail market in Augusta is very strong speaks to the vibrancy of our local and regional economy," he said. Renys' decision to expand there is "good news all around."
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