The Ellenton Kmart store closed earlier this year as part of the fallout from Sears' October 2018 bankruptcy filing. Other affected local stores were Sears stores at the DeSoto Square Mall in Bradenton and at the Port Charlotte Town Center. A hedge fund run by Sears chairman Eddie Lampert won the company in a January bankruptcy auction, and in February a bankruptcy judge allowed Lampert's plan to proceed, saving more than 400 stores and 45,000 jobs.