4/23/2011
By DAVID CLOUSTON Salina Journal
The most surprising bit of trivia about Menards, as the home improvement store prepares for its opening Tuesday in south Salina, might be how long it took to stock the shelves.

It took just three weeks to get in most of the merchandise, said general manager Eric Mikkelson. The Salina store and two Menards stores opening in Wichita share the company's "megastore" design, which covers about 240,000 square feet, according to officials with the company's headquarters in Eau Claire, Wis.

The store, at 805 Virginia, will employ about 190 workers, depending on the season, most all of whom have been hired locally.

"From nothing to now in three weeks," Mikkelson said, proudly. "It takes a lot of special team members. And it took a lot of trucks. They (company officials) knew it was spring so they made sure we had everything we needed."

Menards carries name-brand hardware, tools and appliances, as well as carpet, cabinetry, a full garden center and patio furniture and supplies.

It also has a section of convenience grocery items ranging from canned goods and nonperishable items to milk by the gallon.

"Now you can build your whole house and stock the refrigerator when you're done," Mikkelson said, grinning.

It's Mikkelson's first opening of a new store as a general manager. He started his career with Menards 17 years ago after leaving the grocery business. Salina is the seventh store he's worked in.

The president and CEO of Menards, John Menard Jr., founded the company in 1960; today it's the nation's third largest home improvement retail chain behind Home Depot and Lowe's. It currently operates more than 250 stores in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

"Service," replies Mikkelson, when asked what separates Menards from its competitors in the home improvement business. "That's our number one priority is always service."

There's something for every customer at the store, he said. Departments include building materials, pet supplies, appliances, housewares and paint. The store has a full outdoor lumber yard and a full garden center with trees, shrubs and flowers in stock.

The Menards opening is just the beginning of commercial growth expected to take place in the Magnolia Commons development, said Dennis Lauver, CEO and president of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce. The 40-acre development is at the southwest corner of Magnolia Road and Interstate Highway 135.

"The attractiveness of that site is the front door visibility from the Interstate," Lauver said. "It makes that site very unique and very attractive to retailers."

Salina's "pull factor," the measure of the strength of retail trade in an area that draws people to that location, is one of the sixth strongest in Kansas and the only one that's increased since the recession, Lauver said.

"That's one of the reasons there will be an appeal for trailing businesses to that location is because the Salina retail market is moving up and growing," he said.

Hours at the Salina Menards will be 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Following Tuesday's opening, a grand opening celebration will be scheduled later that will include special deals on merchandise, prize give-aways, in-store demonstrations and celebrity appearances, according to a Menards news release.

n Reporter David Clouston can be reached at 822-1403 or by email at dclouston@salina.com.

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