Sears to close Walden Galleria, Boulevard Mall stores

Two Western New York shopping centers are losing a major tenant.

Sears will close its two-level department store at the Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga and its store at the Boulevard Mall in Amherst in mid-April. The attached Sears Auto Centers will also shut down. 

"We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and will be accelerating the closing of unprofitable stores as we have previously announced," the company said in a statement.

A liquidation sale will begin at both locations on January 6th.

Sears will not say how many employees work at the Cheektowaga and Amherst locations, only that all eligible associates will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other Sears or Kmart stores.

The Kmart across the street from the Walden Galleria, on Walden Avenue, closed earlier this month.

The closings will leave Western New York with three Sears locations, at the McKinley Mall in Blasdell, the Eastern Hills Mall in Clarence and the former Summit Park Mall in the Town of Niagara.