By Meredith Gardner
meredith.gardner@theindependent.com

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Independent/Barrett Stinson Gearing up for the storešs opening this Tuesday, Hastings Menards employee Amy Ruff places locator tags on shelves to match the products displayed on the wall above her. After being hired as a cashier, Ruff has already been promoted to the plumbing department. Independent/Barrett Stinson In back of the main building, the Hastings Menards features a drive-through lumber store. Independent/Barrett Stinson The new Menards in Hastings features a new, wider style of entryway for the chain of home improvement/building stores. Click Thumbnails to View

The Hastings Menards Mega Store, which features approximately 240,000 square feet of interior space in addition to its outdoor garden center and lumber yard, is scheduled to open at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The spacious hardware store includes a number of features not found at many other Menards stores, including a grocery section, a new entryway prototype and updated display systems, said Tim Bohlen, assistant general manager.

The Hastings store will be the farthest south of any Menards in Nebraska, and it's one of the largest in the state as well, said James Teichmeier, the store's general manager.

Menards, a family-owned company started in 1960, currently operates 230 home improvement stores in 11 states.

The Hastings location has approximately 150 employees, mostly hired locally, Bohlen said. About 90 are considered full-time workers. The company did not have trouble finding enough employees to fill its open positions, he said.

Boasting a selection of goods that could make it a one-stop shop for anyone building a home from scratch, the Hastings Menards keeps a wide variety of products in-stock, Bohlen said. Those who can't find what they want can take advantage of the store's special order program, which can typically get the item to the customer within a week.

"There isn't anything we can't order," Bohlen said.

The interior space features aisles and stacks of home improvement stock, including an impressive selection of lumber and a second-level seasonal area with elevator access.

Outside, the store has garden center and a large drive-through lumber yard, what Bohlen called the "biggest forest in Hastings."

The store caters to both cotractors and individual homeowners, he said.

"At Menards, we like to classify ourselves as the do-it-yourselfer's store," Bohlen said. "Your able to come to Menards, and at Menard's you're able to do the complete home project."

In addition to a quality selection and competitive prices, the store prides itself on its guest services, Teichmeier said.

"The guest service is what brings people back," he said.

The store's grand opening celebration will begin on March 29 and run until April 6. Throughout that week, the Menard's will host prize giveaways, in-store demonstrations and special appearances from Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Rodgers and Mike Rozier. Shoppers will also be able to try a Nascar racing simulator and watch a professional chainsaw carver.

The reception from the Hastings community has already been very positive, Teichmeier said, and residents seem excited for the store to open.

The Menard's Mega Store is expected to bring more foot traffic to the north end of Hastings, which has seen a surge in retail development during the past few years, said Dee Haussler, director of the Hastings Economic Development Corp.

Grand Island's Menard's has been known to attract residents from Hastings, southern Nebraska and even northern Kansas, Haussler said. Now, those people are likely to enjoy a shorter trip to Hastings, where they may patronize other area stores.

The city is likely to see an increase in sales tax revenue because of the hardware store's opening, he said, and the Menard's will increase other developer's interest in that area of town.

"We think it's very important to capture that sales here in Hastings as opposed to our friendly neighbor in the north," he said.

Bohlen and Teichmeier said Menard's was not concerned about taking business away from the Grand Island store with the opening of its Hastings location.

"We frequently open stores near each other in many markets to support the growth of the home improvement industry in that area," said Jeff Abbott, Menard, Inc. company spokesman. "We have found that these locations benefit from the increased publicity we receive in these areas."