bealls banner goes up at Owosso East Shopping Center
The Florida-based off-price department store chain has posted a "coming soon" sign on a vacant storefront on East Main Street, but has not announced an opening date.
A large "bealls COMING SOON!" banner is up on a vacant storefront at the Owosso East Shopping Center on East Main Street (M-21), just east of downtown Owosso. The banner is visible from the street and has drawn attention in local community groups this week.
The store would be among the first bealls locations in Michigan. The chain currently has no stores in the state, and its nearest location is in Angola, Indiana, which opened in December 2025, according to WTVB radio in Coldwater, which reported on the chain's Michigan plans Aug. 1.
bealls is the off-price department store chain of Bealls Inc., a family-owned retailer headquartered in Bradenton, Florida, with more than 660 stores in 22 states, according to WTVB and the company's corporate site. Its store brands include bealls, Bealls Florida and Home Centric. The chain sells family apparel, shoes, home goods and accessories at discount prices, an off-price model that competes with chains such as T.J. Maxx and Ross, according to trade coverage in Retail Dive.
Retail Dive reported this year that Bealls Inc. is in a national expansion, with the company saying it is opening 13 new stores across six states this fall. The company also recently expanded its New York buying office to deepen vendor relationships, according to communications director Suzanne Santangelo.
WTVB reported that Michigan's first bealls store is being prepared in Coldwater, in a former Dunham's Sports on East Chicago Street, with an opening expected this fall. The Owosso-area store is part of the same first wave of Michigan openings.
For Shiawassee County, the sign means a long-vacant storefront at the Owosso East Shopping Center would be filled by a national retail tenant. Openings of this type typically bring local retail jobs; bealls hires store teams through its online careers portal ahead of opening.
Hiring for the store has begun: bealls' own employment site lists an assistant store manager opening at 1425 E. Main St. in Owosso — the company's first public confirmation of the store's address. That posting, on the retailer's hiring portal, is typically among the earliest formal steps before a new store's opening date is announced.
bealls has not publicly announced an opening date for the Owosso-area store. The company's corporate "grand openings" page, which lists each new store as its opening approaches, showed no Michigan locations when checked Aug. 13.
What happens next
The Current is watching the company's grand-openings listings for an Owosso-area date and will report it the day it posts. Job seekers can apply for new-store positions through the Bealls Inc. careers portal.
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