Lakes Region Plaza was a thriving shopping center during the 70’s and 80’s. It was the largest shopping center in the area after the Belknap Mall in Belmont.

Site preparation started in 1965 and the plaza opened in 1966 with a W.T.Grant department store, Dan's Star Market and smaller retail stores in between. Twin Cinemas opened in 1968. In 1976, W.T.Grant went out of business and in September of that year, Kmart replaced it. In 1981, the Avedisian family of Wolfeboro acquired the Star Market, renaming it Jackson's Star. In 1990, Jackson’s Star opened a new location in Meredith NH.

Above: vintage satellite view of the original Lakes Region Plaza

In May 1996, Jackson’s Star supermarket closed leaving a large space vacant. At that time, most of the smaller stores around it had closed or moved out including Osco Drug. Across the street, Walmart opened a store in 1997 in the former Rich’s.

Former Lakes Region Plaza sign

In 2000, the aging Kmart store looked very outdated. It looked as if the company had no interest in upgrading it. The store was old, had dented fixtures, a vacant restaurant, vacant auto center, an outdated layout and color scheme. The company pulled the plug in late August 2001.