A grand opening will take place Friday for the new Burlington Coat Factory, 1450 E. Hatch Road with a ribbon cutting at 8:45 a.m.

A soft opening will take place Thursday after 1 p.m., said Julian Aguirre, the city’s Economic Development Manager.

The store set up shop in the former 99 Cents Only store space which has been vacant since it declared bankruptcy and closed in 2024.

In June the commission voted to approve a variance to allow Burlington Coat Factory to have a sign on the building that exceeded the city’s formula for signage size.

The applicant said a larger sign is necessary due to the width of the building’s façade, its setback from Hatch Road, and the design characteristics of the Burlington trademarked branding, including the use of predominantly lowercase lettering and a required tagline.

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 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.