Ocean State Job Lot

No word on future of Ryan’s MarketA company connected to Ocean State Job Lot bought the former Ryan’s Market for $865,000.

It’s been four months since OSJ PEP Investments purchased the property at 70 Brown St. in the heart of Wickford, and only one thing is clear about its future use: it will not be a Job Lot.


“We have plans,” said Job Lot vice president of operations Richard Portno. “But it is not going to be a Job Lot. It’s way too small.”

The building includes 5,200 square feet of retail space, much less than what the company requires for one of its stores. In comparison, a Job Lot store that is set to open in Cranston in mid-May will be approximately 34,000 square feet. Job Lot currently operates 92 stores throughout New England and New York state, and is planning to open three more in March. The Cranston store would be number 96.

Portno said the company typically looks for buildings that are between 30,000 and 35,000 square feet for its stores. He said Job Lot will start working on plans for the Wickford building in earnest in late spring, but he would not discuss possibilities for its use.

“It will be very suited to the village of Wickford,” he said.

North Kingstown Town Manager Michael Embury said no plans have been filed with the town for the building’s reuse.

“We don’t know what their plans are,” he said. “We’re just sitting here waiting to see what they come forward with.”

Barbara Cullen, head of the Wickford Village Association, also has not heard what will be done with the building, which was home to Ryan’s Market, a North Kingstown institution founded in 1886. Faced with increasing competition, the building was put up for sale in 2007 and the market closed the following year. The building has been vacant for nearly two years.

Cullen, owner of the Mystic Scrimshanders shop on Main Street, said the Village Association welcomed redevelopment of the building and its members are anxiously waiting to hear what will happen to it.

“We’re excited that something is happening because it’s been empty for so long,” she said.