By Nicole Mulready

In February last year Borders declared its bankruptcy, and that as a result, it would be closing 200 stores nationwide, nearly a third of its branches. Selectman John Turk, Chairman of Southbury's Economic Development Commission, spoke to Southbury Patch at the time, stating the town's awareness of the bankruptcy, but also stating that it was not known if the Southbury branch would be among those that were closed. Later in the month, it was reported that the Southbury store would indeed be closing.

In September of last year, First Selectman Bill Davis announced at a candidate debate that a T. J. Maxx would be filling the currently vacated space where Borders used to be in the Plaza. The management of the real estate company who operates in the Plaza stated that they could not confirm this information, as leasing was still in progress. Additionally, the Southbury Building Department said that there were no current applications on file regarding the property. And yet, rumors of the new store continued to circulate through the town. In mid-December, the owners of Southbury Plaza announced that T. J. Maxx would indeed be going in where Borders once was and said that it was expected to open in early spring of this year.

Reactions of the public have been almost exclusively positive, as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, both stores that are a part of the TJX companies, are well loved for their less expensive yet cute merchandise. Senior Alyssa Hamilton says she's "excited for it coming since there are a limited number of clothing stores in Southbury and Middlebury that have a good variety of styles and actually cute stuff, not to mention it's not expensive to shop there. It also means more jobs for people around here, which is a good thing." And speaking of more jobs, for those of you who'd like to apply, go to www.tjxjobs.com, click on the "Apply for a job" tab, download and print the application, fill it out and then bring it to a local T.J. Maxx to apply. Hopefully, the store will move in very soon.