1 EXHIBIT 23 CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT The Board of Directors and Stockholders Mazel Stores, Inc.: We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement No. 333-32275 on Form S-8 of Mazel Stores, Inc. of our report dated March 16, 1999, relating to the consolidated balance sheets of Mazel Stores, Inc. and subsidiaries as of January 30, 1999 and January 31, 1998 and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity and partners' capital and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended January 30, 1999, which report appears in the January 30, 1999 Form 10-K of Mazel Stores, Inc. KPMG LLP Cleveland, Ohio April 21, 1999