The good news about Fred’s in Lake Wylie: Major sale coming. The bad news...

The Fred’s Department Store in Lake Wylie will close by Feb. 28 and will hold a liquidation sale starting next week, according to a store employee familiar with the chain’s plans.

The employee spoke on the condition of anonymity because the employee is not authorized to discuss the closing. A comment from the corporate office of Fred’s Inc., based in Memphis, Tenn., was not immediately available.

In addition to a variety of merchandise, a major draw of Fred’s is its low prices.

Fred’s in Lake Wylie, at 4084 Charlotte Highway near the Buster Boyd Bridge, is a major tenant of Lake Wylie Plaza shopping center, along with the Sportscenter athletic club, the Bagel Boat and other restaurants, the Estate Boys décor shop, and Sweet Repeat thrift store. The space Fred’s occupies began as a Harris Teeter grocery store in the early 1970s.

Special closing sales will begin Jan 26 and will continue “until everything is gone,” the local employee said. Employees were informed last week.

“Customers will miss Fred’s,” the employee said. “It’s an all-in-one-trip store.”

In recent years business has concentrated farther from the bridge spanning Highway 49 between North and South Carolina, toward the intersection of highways 49, 55 and 55, traditionally called “Three Points.” A Walmart and Lowe’s, Publix and Food Lion groceries, new restaurants and other businesses draw customers toward that direction since they opened in recent years.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 5:37 PM with the headline "The good news about Fred’s in Lake Wylie: Major sale coming. The bad news...."