Town and Country Shopping Center
A suburban shopping center in Kettering, Ohio, combining enclosed retail space with an open-air village-style section.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Town and Country Shopping Center is a retail complex in Kettering, Ohio, serving the Dayton metropolitan area. It opened in 1951 as a modern suburban shopping center, reflecting the postwar movement of retail activity away from traditional downtown districts and toward automobile-oriented commercial developments. The center was designed with a combination of enclosed and open-air pedestrian circulation, linking a group of stores and restaurants rather than operating solely as a single enclosed mall. The center became an important early retail destination in the Dayton area. In 1956, the local J.C. Penney operation moved from downtown Dayton to Town and Country, illustrating the center’s growing significance and the broader shift in consumer shopping patterns. According to the Ohio History Connection material cited in the center’s historical account, Town and Country was among the early shopping centers to use illuminated signage and well-lit parking areas, allowing customers to shop after dark and reinforcing its suburban, car-accessible format. Over time, the property developed into a diversified convenience and comparison-shopping destination. Its tenant mix has included department and off-price retailers, specialty stores, restaurants, pet supplies, books and entertainment, footwear, and grocery retail. The center’s tenant roster has included brands such as Trader Joe’s, TJ Maxx, Petco, 2nd & Charles, Tuesday Morning, Buffalo Wild Wings, Roderer Shoe Center, and Stein Mart. Trader Joe’s became particularly notable because its Town and Country location was described as the chain’s only store in the Dayton area at the time of the center’s major renovation planning. In late 2014, the owners announced a substantial redevelopment program estimated at approximately $7 million. The plan involved relocating or expanding anchor tenants, adding TJ Maxx, improving the interior and exterior appearance, upgrading the parking lot, enlarging the Trader Joe’s store by about 25 percent, and creating a pedestrian breezeway to connect smaller businesses behind the principal shopping center. These changes were intended to refresh the property while preserving its mixed enclosed and open-air character. The center has also been affected by changes in the wider retail industry. Stein Mart, a long-standing anchor tenant, filed for bankruptcy in August 2020 and announced plans to liquidate its stores. The Town and Country location was expected to close once its inventory was sold, even though its lease was reported to run through 2023. This episode illustrates the pressure faced by traditional off-price department-store operators and the resulting need for shopping centers to manage anchor vacancies and tenant replacement. Town and Country Shopping Center is organized into an enclosed portion with approximately 55 tenant spaces and an attached open-air area known as the Village Shops, which contains about 23 additional shops and restaurants. The property is therefore best understood as a hybrid neighborhood and regional shopping center rather than a conventional fully enclosed mall. Its identity rests on longevity, a broad service-and-retail mix, established anchor tenants, and a location serving Kettering and nearby Dayton communities.
History
Town and Country Shopping Center opened in 1951 in Kettering, Ohio, during the expansion of suburban retail development in the United States. Rather than following the traditional downtown department-store model, it offered a purpose-built shopping environment oriented toward automobile access and convenient parking. Its design combined enclosed pedestrian routes with open-air walkways that connected adjacent stores and restaurants. The property was considered modern for its period. Historical material associated with the Ohio History Connection identifies it as one of the early shopping centers to use illuminated signs and illuminated parking areas, features that supported evening shopping and helped distinguish suburban retail from older commercial districts. The center’s location in Kettering also placed it within the expanding Dayton-area suburban market. A significant early tenant transition occurred in 1956, when the Dayton-area J.C. Penney operation moved from downtown Dayton to Town and Country. The relocation demonstrated the center’s ability to attract established department-store retail and reflected the growing importance of suburban shopping destinations. Over the following decades, Town and Country developed a broad tenant mix that combined larger anchor stores with smaller specialty retailers and restaurants. Stein Mart became an anchor tenant in 1992. The center later included a range of national and regional businesses spanning off-price apparel, grocery retail, pet supplies, books and entertainment, shoes, casual dining, and other services. Trader Joe’s was especially significant to the Dayton market, being described in the center’s historical account as the retailer’s only Dayton-area location at the time of the property’s redevelopment planning. In late 2014, the owners announced an extensive renovation program with an estimated cost of $7 million. The redevelopment plan called for changes to anchor-store locations, tenant expansions, new retail space for TJ Maxx, improvements to the interior and exterior of the property, and parking-lot upgrades. Trader Joe’s was scheduled to receive an expansion of approximately 25 percent. The project also included a pedestrian breezeway connecting smaller shops located behind the main shopping-center buildings. These measures sought to modernize the property and improve circulation while maintaining its combination of enclosed and open-air retail. The center’s later history reflects the volatility of the retail sector. Stein Mart filed for bankruptcy on August 12, 2020, and announced that it intended to wind down its store operations by the end of that year. The Town and Country location was expected to close after its inventory was sold. Although the store’s lease was reported to extend to 2023, the space was expected to return to shopping-center management after the bankruptcy process released it. The event placed pressure on the property to address the loss of a large-format anchor. The center is described as having approximately 74 spaces for shops and restaurants. Its enclosed section contains about 55 spaces, while the attached Village Shops open-air area contains approximately 23 shops and restaurants. Reported large tenants have included Stein Mart, 2nd & Charles, TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning, Petco, Trader Joe’s, Roderer Shoe Center, and Buffalo Wild Wings. Some tenant information is historical and may have changed as leases expired, businesses closed, or spaces were re-tenanted. Today, Town and Country Shopping Center is best characterized as a hybrid suburban shopping center rather than a fully enclosed regional mall. Its historical importance comes from its early postwar format, its role in the Dayton-area shift toward suburban retail, and its continuing combination of everyday shopping, specialty retail, dining, and pedestrian-oriented open-air space.
- 2020
Stein Mart files for bankruptcy
[1]Stein Mart enters bankruptcy and plans to close its Town and Country store after its remaining inventory is sold.
- 2014
Major redevelopment program announced
[1]Owners announce a renovation program estimated at $7 million, including tenant changes, property upgrades, a larger Trader Joe’s, a TJ Maxx location, and a new pedestrian breezeway.
- 1992
Stein Mart becomes an anchor tenant
[1]Stein Mart opens at Town and Country and becomes one of the property’s major anchor retailers.
- 1956
J.C. Penney relocates from downtown Dayton
[1]The Dayton-area J.C. Penney operation moves from downtown Dayton to the shopping center, strengthening Town and Country’s role as a suburban retail destination.
- 1951
Shopping center opens
[1]Town and Country Shopping Center opens in Kettering as an early suburban shopping development with enclosed and open-air pedestrian circulation.
Products and positioning
A long-established, car-accessible suburban shopping center offering a mix of national retailers, specialty stores, grocery shopping, restaurants, and services in both enclosed and open-air settings.
Shopping-center format · 1951
Enclosed shopping-center retail space
The principal enclosed portion of Town and Country provides space for a range of retailers, restaurants, and service businesses. It is reported to contain approximately 55 tenant spaces and forms the core of the center’s weather-protected shopping environment.
Open-air retail format
Village Shops
The Village Shops is the center’s attached open-air section. It adds approximately 23 shops and restaurants and extends the property’s pedestrian-oriented layout beyond the enclosed retail area.
Retail leasing · 1951
Anchor and large-format retail space
Town and Country has accommodated large-format tenants in apparel, grocery, pet supplies, books and entertainment, and other categories. Historically reported anchors and large tenants have included Stein Mart, TJ Maxx, Trader Joe’s, Petco, 2nd & Charles, Tuesday Morning, and Roderer Shoe Center.
Brand decisions
2020
Stein Mart anchor departureOtherBackground
Stein Mart filed for bankruptcy and began planning an orderly shutdown of its stores.
Action taken
The Town and Country Stein Mart location was expected to close after its inventory was depleted, with the space potentially returning to shopping-center management after bankruptcy-court release.
Aftermath
The center faced the loss of a major anchor and the need to manage or re-tenant the space.
2014
Comprehensive property renovationStrategyBackground
The owners sought to update the center, strengthen its tenant mix, and improve connections between the main shopping-center buildings and smaller rear-facing shops.
Action taken
They announced a renovation estimated at $7 million, including interior, exterior, and parking improvements, a new TJ Maxx location, a roughly 25 percent Trader Joe’s expansion, tenant relocations or expansions, and a pedestrian breezeway.
Aftermath
The plan represented a repositioning of the longstanding center while retaining its mixed enclosed and open-air format.
Estimated renovation cost. $7 million estimated investment (2014 announcement)
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