Local department store shoppers will have one fewer option beginning today.

One of the original Rogue Valley Mall anchor stores, Mervyns, ceased operation here Saturday.

The closure, announced on Jan. 16 by Hayward, Calif.-based Mervyns LLC, is part of the chain’s exodus from the Northwest so it can concentrate on its Southwestern business.

"This is the end," said manager Patrick Dettman, who took over the reins of the 86,114-square-foot store in 2004. "It’s been pretty quiet lately."

Other than diminished stock, things were fairly normal on the final day, Patrick said. "We’re operating normal hours with our normal staff."

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Mervyns stores in Medford, Bellingham, Wash., and the Crossroads Plaza in Salt Lake City were scheduled to close this month, while 17 others will shutter by February 2007.

The company said 100 full-time jobs and 383 part-time jobs will be lost in Oregon, but didn’t have specific store numbers.

Crews will soon be gutting and revamping the 20-year-old building in preparation for Kohl’s Department Store, which likely will move in by October. Kohl’s Corp. of Menomonee Falls, Wis., applied for a $2.5 million remodeling permit last month.

The north end of the mall will undergo a sweeping overhaul, with dressing rooms shifting from the exterior to central areas, according to plans on file with the city of Medford.

Mervyns opened two Oregon stores in 1979 and moved to Southern Oregon when the Rogue Valley Mall opened in 1986. The first original anchor to leave the market was Montgomery Ward, which closed in early 2001 when the chain folded nationwide.

Like Mervyns, Kohl’s is a low-price department store. In February, the company posted a profit of $318.8 million in its fiscal fourth quarter. Sales at stores that had been open at least a year rose 2.7 percent last quarter.

During a conference call about its fourth-quarter earnings, Kohl’s Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Montgomery said the company has added private and exclusive brands to win middle-income shoppers away from Federated Department Stores, which now owns Meier & Frank and J.C. Penney.

Kohl’s will open as many as 85 stores this fiscal year, including locations in Portland, Eugene and Medford. The company ended its fiscal year with 732 stores in 41 states, compared with 637 stores in 40 states at the end of 2004.

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com.