Kmart 9543

Kmart #9543 was a Kmart discount department store located at 1309 North High Street in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. The store opened March 8, 1979 and was the second discount department store in the city, after a Copps Department Store built on the south side of town in 1973. Many in town, including Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce President Diane Hrobsky, have blamed the drop in business there to construction of the State Highway 26 bypass in 1995 that detoured most traffic around area businesses. Even as surrounding businesses began to close their doors, the store underwent a transformation in 2000 to the “Big Kmart” format. The Store closed in Mid-January 2014, following a company trend.