Roses Express interior
Roses Express #1849 (21,600 square feet)
1286 Smithfield Plaza, Smithfield Shopping Plaza, Smithfield, VA
Opened in August 2014; originally part of Ames (1988-March 1993), later Maxway (closed in 2014)
Smithfield features one of Roses' smaller format stores, though I struggled to notice much of a difference between this Express store and a "regular" location like this. I do suppose that the salesfloor's smaller size gives it the feel of a slightly-larger-than-normal Dollar General with a wider selection of clothing, but for the most part it just seems like super inconsistent branding to me since Express and regular locations offer the same departments. Anyways, Roses occupies half of this former Ames department store, and some design choices appear to be leftover from them. The majority of the fluorescent tube lights going vertically down the salesfloor (when looking from the front entrance) rather than horizontal is something I've seen in other Ames stores, and I'm pretty sure Roses' stockroom/office space on the left side of the building is an Ames leftover as well, though Roses is a chain I associate with off-to-the-side stockrooms as seen in the Chesapeake store I linked above. Since Smithfield lacks an actual department store nor does it have a discount retailer like Big Lots, I'd say that Roses fills the void and makes its' existence feel justified, which is more than I can say for certain locations of theirs!
Roses Express interior
Roses Express #1849 (21,600 square feet)
1286 Smithfield Plaza, Smithfield Shopping Plaza, Smithfield, VA
Opened in August 2014; originally part of Ames (1988-March 1993), later Maxway (closed in 2014)
Smithfield features one of Roses' smaller format stores, though I struggled to notice much of a difference between this Express store and a "regular" location like this. I do suppose that the salesfloor's smaller size gives it the feel of a slightly-larger-than-normal Dollar General with a wider selection of clothing, but for the most part it just seems like super inconsistent branding to me since Express and regular locations offer the same departments. Anyways, Roses occupies half of this former Ames department store, and some design choices appear to be leftover from them. The majority of the fluorescent tube lights going vertically down the salesfloor (when looking from the front entrance) rather than horizontal is something I've seen in other Ames stores, and I'm pretty sure Roses' stockroom/office space on the left side of the building is an Ames leftover as well, though Roses is a chain I associate with off-to-the-side stockrooms as seen in the Chesapeake store I linked above. Since Smithfield lacks an actual department store nor does it have a discount retailer like Big Lots, I'd say that Roses fills the void and makes its' existence feel justified, which is more than I can say for certain locations of theirs!