Picking through a fallen retailer's sad remains

My Thursday afternoon was slightly derailed following what was supposed to be a quick trip to Shopko.

Admittedly, the store’s closure wasn’t on my personal radar since writing about it months ago. The large, yellow and black signs with the words “store closing” printed boldly on them never brought me in. I went in because I suddenly needed a flash drive. I didn’t find one, but I ended up walking out with two packages of pens, a 10-piece set of stainless steel cookware and a black backpack I’m sure will come in handy sometime.

However, looking at sparsely stocked shelves wasn’t like a search for the holy grail of shopping deals, it felt more like picking through the remains of another retail giant.

I’ve made that description before. Unfortunately, as retail chains have struggled and between deciding to focus on larger markets and completely collapsing, those bold yellow and black signs have become a common sight in Sweetwater County and Rock Springs in particular. Sure, a person looking for a few boxes of mac and cheese could pick up the remaining boxes for the pocket change they could find between the couch cushions, but there’s something melancholy about the whole procedure though.

One of my favorite aspects of going to a department store is simply looking around. A quick trip to buy a few specific things doesn’t lend itself to wandering aimlessly through the aisles, but those longer visits often result in finding something fun or unique to take home.

Staring at screen and shifting through images of products doesn’t have the same feel as looking through physical items at a store. Probably because you can’t get a feel for what you’re buying if you buy it online in the first place. You can’t hold the box, examine a product firsthand to ensure its construction is satisfactory. You can’t feel clothing to determine if it’s well made or not. For me, this is especially true when it comes to clothing as now, there is only one place locally I can reliably find clothes I like.

Empty shelves and sparse offerings aside, Shopko’s closure also means the end of having any sort of department store in Green River. Perhaps local businesses can find a way to fill some of the void, but the unfortunate fact is the closure means Green River’s residents are just a little more dependent on Rock Springs and the internet for their needs. Hopefully, this is only a temporary development.