Business
When La Crosse had two Kmarts and three Shopkos — a look at the area’s lost big box stores, from Sears to Bell Discount

Big box stores are slowly becoming extinct.
The La Crosse area has a few examples of those that are no more, including multiple Kmarts and Shopkos, a Sears and perhaps some remember the Bell Discount Store.
Kmart was one of the first discount store chains in the U.S., launching in the early 1960s. La Crosse’s first Kmart opened along State Road in 1965 and remained a staple of the community until 2017.
A second Kmart operated near Valley View Mall from 1982-1995. The building now houses businesses, including Planet Fitness and Office Depot.
Before Kmart, Bell Discount opened near the Causeway in 1962. This store, later renamed Belsoct, was one of the early retail players in the region, serving customers until it closed in 1978.

The Shopko chain, another fixture in the La Crosse retail landscape, opened in the early 1960s. Local Shopkos operated at Bridgeview Plaza along Rose Street, at the Shelby Mall on Mormon Coulee Road and on Highway 16 near Valley View Mall.
In 2019, Shopko announced it would close all its stores, transitioning to a focus on optical centers under the Shopko name.
The former La Crosse area Shopko locations have all been repurposed in the past year:
- The Rose Street building is now home to Blue Zone Pickleball.
- The Mormon Coulee store was taken over by an Aldi grocery.
- The Highway 16 storefront was divided into spaces for multiple businesses, including T.J. Maxx and Five Below.

Other box store giants gone, these anchoring Valley View Mall, include both Sears and Daytons — two of the originals opening with the mall in 1980.
Sears closed in 2018.
Dayton’s switched names in 2001 to Marshall Fields, before becoming Macy’s in 2017, the Herberger’s for about a year. The building was demolished in 2024 to make way for a Starbucks, a Raising Cane’s, a Panda Express, more parking and a carwash.

In addition to the above, a number of smaller stores have also faded from the local scene in the past year:
- Party City shut down abruptly in late 2024.
- Big Lots closed in September 2024.
- Rue21 in Valley View Mall closed in the spring of 2024.
For the big — and little — box stores, they were the height of shopping Yesterday in La Crosse, but couldn’t maintain, with competition in town such as Target and Walmart, as well as trying to keep up with online sellers.

John Jermaine Jackson
January 18, 2025 at 7:19 pm
Write back c/0 Mr johnjermainejackson 1413 south 5th Street Apt 8lacrosse,Wisconsin 54601(USA) well my comment to your wizm news talk is thankyou first and 2nd is hope soon is more talk about areas where police judges teachers live around what type of life is lacrosse tax payers really paying for is they living in a more safe area how much u told story’s about lacrosse govt workers private life style I must add to this I in the past went to lacrosse county jail because of hate crimes johnjermainejackson vs moka since then so many of my emails to da officer tim g has cont to go unanswer it is now jan 19th 2025 7:16pm treason is what USA govt is doing unto the local churches and oath they made to others and self
Debi Lyn
January 19, 2025 at 12:25 pm
Just initial thoughts off the top of my head:
Would be nice to see this matter explored further than a mere telling of what is otherwise observable with the human eye!
Does anyone care why these major businesses are gone or what can be done to mitigate the losses? Are there other promising options, say for example, in what USE TO BE a flourishing mall bustling with lifelong patrons, their children, & even grandchildren? The place looked like an abandoned daycare center last time I was there! 🥺
Can we talk about this? Who decides what, and are there ways to appeal to businesses….? Who’s asking the questions, and are they asking the right questions?😳
Just curious!
Roy
January 20, 2025 at 7:01 am
Brad,
Neither Sears nor Dayton’s were ever considered “big-box” stores. They would shudder to see you write that. They were department stores, as was W.T. Grant, Herberger’s, Penney’s and a host of others.
Big-box stores are the stand alone (largely) discounters with a huge parking lot that are price-point retailers, today forced out by Wal-Mart and Target.