Kirkland’s should consider changing its name to Boomerang because the home decor retailer repeatedly leaves Naples but then keeps coming back.

After closing its store, removing its sign and completely clearing out its space last year at Park Shore Plaza on U.S. 41 in Naples, the national retailer plans to reopen in early 2022 in the same unit next to Party City. 

“Several Kirkland’s stores closed in the early days of COVID when no one knew what to predict. However, with people spending more time at home, a surge of relocations to Southwest Florida and seasonal residents staying longer in the area, the home décor category has seen phenomenal growth, especially in affluent areas,” said Maria Pace, director of marketing for Brixmor Property Group, owner of Park Shore Plaza.

Karen Tiller, a manager at Kirkland’s Gulf Coast Town Center store in the Fort Myers area, said the Naples store is targeted to reopen at the end of January. Until then, the Gulf Coast Town Center location is the nearest store for Kirkland’s, which has about 370 stores in 35 states. 

Kirkland’s first store in Naples was in Coastland Center mall, where it opened in the late 1990s and operated for 10 years. Then, the Nashville-based chain moved across the street to a company-owned store that it operated for about six years in Gateway Plaza next to Naples High School. After doing business in the city for at least 15 years, Kirkland’s permanently closed its Naples store in July 2012. 

After a nearly five-year hiatus, Kirkland’s returned to Naples in 2017. It joined Burlington and Party City in filling most of the huge space Big Kmart had vacated two years earlier in Park Shore Plaza. Now, Kirkland’s is returning to that same 7,861-square-foot unit.

Kirkland’s is now hiring and accepting applications at Kirklands.com/Careers.