By: Kerrick Shaw 

Various business locations have been rapidly cleaning out in Greensburg. 

Route 30’s Dick’s Sporting Goods, the South Greensburg Wendy’s restaurant and Greengate Center’s Big Lots have all been affected in recent months by poorly performing locations or filing for bankruptcy.  

Dick’s Sporting Goods 

Following the closing of its Route 30 location, the Westmoreland Mall is welcoming a Dick’s House of Sport into an anchor space in the mall that was previously occupied by Sears. Computer Science teacher Mr. Tyler Brinton believes the new store will be “great for the community.” 

“It’ll be a really great place for kids to get sports gear, especially being in the mall,” Mr. Brinton said. 

The House of Sport offers a more interactive experience for customers than a normal Dick’s Sporting Goods location; they are often larger than a Sporting Goods, with most locations, such as at Ross Park Mall, featuring golf simulators, spaces to practice sports and a 30-feet-tall rock wall. The store will also offer the expected athletic apparel and equipment. 

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The outside of the Greensburg Dick’s location after being shut down.

Photo By: Kerrick Shaw

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Wendy’s and TGI Fridays 

  The Wendy’s restaurant located on South Main Street was one of over 100 U.S. restaurants closed in 2024 from failing to keep up with other spots. These closing sites will be balanced out by the opening of around 250 new restaurants across America. 

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The outside of the South Greensburg Wendy’s.

Photo By: Kerrick Shaw

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“I was told we closed because our lease was up and we didn’t make enough to pay it,” Wendy’s employee, junior Nova Miller, said. “We’re all set at a new store now. They moved all of the employees at the South Greensburg one to the Wendy’s by the mall; we’ve basically combined stores.” 

The restaurant chain TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy in November, leaving the location in the Hempfield Square shopping plaza, surrounded by Texas Roadhouse and PetSmart, available for lease. TGI Fridays Inc. operates less than 40 locations in the U.S. 

Big Lots 

Big Lots, located in the Greengate Shopping Center, recently had their windows covered with everything-must-go signs. The discount furniture and home décor chain filed for bankruptcy in September of last year, however, its debts were just picked up by Gordon Brothers, a global assets company.  

According to the Gordon Brothers press release, their purchasing of Big Lots Inc. will preserve the brand, keeping “hundreds of stores in operation and preventing thousands of layoffs.”  

Variety Wholesalers, a company included in the transfer of Big Lots’ assets, will operate about 200 stores under the Big Lots brand. Gordon Brothers will provide real estate services to support the future of Big Lots and have just put new-to-market store leases up for sale across 47 states, not including PA meaning the Greengate Center space will remain closed.  

 GS Libarian Mrs. Carrie Vottero believes the closing of these businesses is due to the ever-growing use of electronics. 

“I remember shopping a different way than how young people, and myself, shop today,” Mrs. Vottero said. “It’s bound to change; the world is changing. More things are continuously going electronic, like Amazon and DoorDash. That’s just how people shop now.”