Burlington Coat Factory is planning to fill the empty building that was abandoned in 2024 by 99 Cents Only.
The city attempted to keep the news under wraps until the lease was signed but news slipped out last week on social media. City Manager Doug Dunford confirmed the news.
The building has been vacant since 99 Cents Only declared bankruptcy and closed the Hatch Road store in 2024.
Burlington Coat Factory, Inc., originally known as Burlington Coat Factory, began in 1972 when Monroe and Henrietta Milstein opened a single discount coat shop in Burlington, NJ. The founders focused on offering quality outerwear at prices far below traditional department stores, a model that gained traction quickly. Over the decades the company broadened its merchandise beyond coats to include women’s, men’s and children’s apparel, footwear, accessories, home décor, beauty items and more, reflecting a strategic shift from a niche outerwear outlet into a full-line off-price retailer.
Today, Burlington operates over 1,100 stores across 46 states and Puerto Rico, making it one of the largest off-price chains in the country alongside competitors like TJ Maxx and Ross Dress for Less. The company plans to open around 100 net new locations annually and a long-term target of roughly 2,000 stores.
Burlington’s product assortment is designed to attract a broad consumer base that seeks brand-name merchandise at significant discounts — often up to 60 percent below typical department store prices.
Dunford said the city expects to see six or seven new business applications in the coming months. Some of those applications will be addressing the former Walmart site at Hatch and Mitchell roads.
Last week the Ceres Planning Commission approved Conditional Use Permits for two new businesses at the site – a Dutch Bros and Take Five Oil Change.
Another application is expected to fill the abandoned KFC/A&W building at the northwest corner of Hatch and Mitchell. Dunford declined to state the name of the business.
In the area of Service and Crows Landing roads in southwest Ceres, plans are in the works to build a new operations building and bus yard for Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority (StanRTA). Dunford said the agency plans to pull out of Modesto.
StanRTA runs the county public transit system and contracts with the city of Modesto for Ceres public transit service.
Meanwhile, the city has not given up on Public Storage fulfilling plans to convert the former Kmart store building on Hatch Road to a self-storage facility. According to Dunford, the proponent has encountered financial issues but has not signaled its intent to back away from the project.
In 2021 the city approved a development plan to create six commercial zoned parcels out of the single 9.02-acre Kmart site. Public Storage has yet to materialize but the parking lot was developed for a Raising Cane’s and Dutch Bros. Other businesses are expected, including a car wash application.
