image description — Store employees join manager Christine Bujanow to cut the ribbon on the new Kohl's department store in Lenox.

Kohl's Cuts Ribbon on Lenox Location

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:15PM / Friday, November 04, 2022Print Story | Email Story

Store manager Christine Bujanow prepares the sales floor before Kohl's grand opening

LENOX, Mass. — Store employees cut the ribbon on the Berkshire's newest retail store on Friday.

Centrally located on Pittsfield Road, Kohl's hopes to meet the local demand for shopping options while providing personable customer service. The small format department store had a soft opening on Sunday before its official debut at the end of the week.

This is the first Kohl's to open in Berkshire County. The closest stores are in Springfield and in Colonie, N.Y.

Manager Christine Bujanow said the store was brought to the region to offer more diversity in products and give residents another place to shop.

"We hope for amazing success and people in the community that really love to shop here and just have a great time here, make it feel more like a family store rather than a corporation just because we are a smaller style," she said.

"To make sure that everyone is just treated with the utmost greatest customer service that we can provide and hospitality."

There are currently 50 associates on staff and with the holiday season approaching, the store is looking for seasonal employees.

Bujanow has been with the company for over a decade and has worked in five different stores.

The building is new construction next to Marshall's. Employees were able to come in at the end of September, taking about a month to prepare the sales floor for opening.

Kohl's carries a number of brands including Nike, Under Armor, Adidas, Champion, and in-store-exclusive brands such as Sonoma Goods for Life, LC by Lauren Conrad, and Simply Vera by Vera Wang.

It also offers electronics, Amazon products through a partnership, and Fitbit health and fitness monitors.

All products are also available online and shoppers can opt for in-store pickup to avoid shipping fees. If the item is in the store's inventory it can be picked up within two hours.

"I'm super excited and waiting years for this," said one customer who did not wish to give her name. She described the store as having "mini versions" of Kohl's housewares departments.

But she thinks company "dropped the ball" by failing to include a jewelry counter or Sephora counter. There's another cosmetics outlet in the area that "could use a little competition," she said.

She hopes that Kohl's will listen to customers and consider adding those missing departments.

Along with excited customers, company leadership came to the store to mark its opening day.

"I am absolutely thrilled that we're here in the Berkshires," Boston-Albany District Manager Sarena Bearce said.

"Our store is beautiful. we're very, very excited to be here and we cannot wait to be a bigger part of the community."

Tags: new business, grand opening,

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Healey Files Legislation to Suspend Gas Tax

06:33PM / Wednesday, September 23, 2026

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday filed legislation to lower costs at the gas pump, when buying concert and sports tickets, and on electric bills, while also making investments to strengthen health care, maternal health, food assistance and public safety.

The legislation includes Healey's proposal to suspend the state gas tax for two months. The war in Iran has driven up prices over 50 percent since February. It also includes her Great Divide Act, which caps ticket resale prices and fees and bans speculative tickets, as well as $2.25 million to strengthen postpartum care and mental health support for mothers and families across Massachusetts.

The bill includes changes to how utility companies purchase electricity for customers on basic service, which is estimated to save ratepayers $610 million, as well as $41.5 million for the Department of Transitional Assistance for caseworkers and technological upgrades to help people stay enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) despite President Donald Trump's cuts.

The legislation also provides critical funding for MassHealth, public safety and other state services. In total, it will enable the state to close Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) with a balanced budget by appropriating $2.24 billion in gross spending, at a net cost to the state of $1.46 billion after revenue offsets.

"While President Trump is driving up costs with his war and tariffs, in Massachusetts, we're doing everything we can to make life more affordable for people and businesses," said Healey in a statement. "This budget will lower costs at the gas pump, when buying concert and sports tickets, and on energy bills, while also making sure families can continue to access the health care, food assistance and services they rely on."

If passed, the legislation would suspend the state's 24-cent-per-gallon gas tax for two months, providing immediate relief for residents and truckers. The law will require gas stations to lower prices to reflect the suspended tax and ensure that drivers see the savings at the pump. The estimated $120 million in revenue will be replaced with a portion of unbudgeted, surplus fiscal year 2027 Fair Share surtax collections. For reference, in FY26 there was nearly $1 billion in Fair Share surplus funds available. This means that no ongoing or planned transportation projects financed through the Commonwealth Transportation Fund will be impacted. The Commonwealth will also remain compliant with its CTF bond obligations.

Great Divide Act

The Great Divide Act caps the resale price of concert tickets at 110 percent of the price of the face value of the original ticket. It also limits the service fees and charges that can be imposed by ticket resellers like StubHub and SeatGeek to no more than 10 percent of the total price of the ticket for resale. It prohibits the sale of speculative tickets, which are tickets that are not in the possession of the seller when they are listed for sale. Finally, it implements additional consumer protections measures, including prohibiting the use of deceptive websites by ticket resellers and misleading consumers about the availability of tickets.

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