Reports: Ames Department Stores May Return in 2023

More than 20 years after the Ames department store chain closed all of its stores, the retailer is mounting a comeback.

That’s according to an announcement on a website purporting to represent the long-defunct discount retailer, which says Ames is “returning in spring 2023.” According to NBC 10 News, the first locations will open in Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania.

A woman identifying herself as Shannon de Molyneaux, whose email address is the listed press contact on amesstores.com, spoke with multiple media outlets. She claims she is the President of Cross Moline Ventures.

The announcement, however, has been met with skepticism on account of Cross Moline Ventures having a minimal online presence in the form of an under-construction website. Snopes says it asked Molyneaux for proof of the announcement’s veracity and would provide an update if it received such proof.

Ames was founded in 1958 and was based in Rocky Hill, Conn. At its peak, the retailer operated 700 stores in 20 states.