MONROE — The buzz around town proved to be true after Blain’s Farm & Fleet announced Jan. 23 that the Monroe store location will move less than half a mile away and relocate into the old ShopKo location, at 405 W. 8th St.
According a press release sent Jan. 23, the new store location will offer “extensive improvement” of the previous ShopKo building and will add 1.5 acres of adjacent land with plans to expand.
Construction is expected to be complete in the fall of 2020.
Miranda Becker, public relations and event lead for Blain’s Farm & Fleet said when the opportunity presented itself, the new location turned out to be a good fit for the popular store. She said Monroe is a community that has always supported the store; Farm & Fleet has been in Monroe since 1964.
“The Monroe community has certainly supported us,” she said. “We’re excited about the location and excited to have a bigger presence in the Monroe community.”
The new store will offer a larger location and more than 20,000 additional square feet of space. According to the press release, it will add a “best-in-class covered drive thru” and “updated state of the art automotive service center.”
The Monroe Farm & Fleet has been at its current location since 1972. Becker said with additional square footage, they will be able to show off more brands the store carries. The additional acreage behind the property will allow them to add in a covered drive thru, which Becker said would offer options for online pickup for items — a service they offer at other locations.
“We really want to bring that to Monroe,” she said.
Wider aisles, expanded products and brands and LED lights on the interior and exterior will also be part of the changes.
“It is so meaningful to all of us that we will now be able to make a big investment back into a community that has supported Blain’s Farm and Fleet for 56 years,” Jane Blain Gilbertson, owner and president, said in the release. “Monroe has been so loyal to us, and we look forward to repurposing this building, purchasing additional adjacent land and creating the best possible experience for our neighbors.”
There are less than 100 employees currently at the Monroe Farm & Fleet, and Becker said with the larger store there are plans to hire more employees.
ShopKo, a retail store that also offered a pharmacy, closed in June 2019. The store filed papers in a bankruptcy court to restructure in January of 2019 and close a number of its stores that initially didn’t include Monroe. However, in mid-June, ShopKo announced all of its stores would close.
Since then, both ShopKo Optical and Monroe Clinic FastCare that were both part of ShopKo have relocated elsewhere in Monroe.
The current Farm & Fleet location at 251 8th St., Monroe, will remain open while construction is underway, according to the release. They are looking for parties looking to redevelop the current store site after the relocation. Interested parties can contact Sara Iverson Smith, director of real estate, construction and facilities at siversonsmith@blainsupply.com.