The long wait is over for Rural King’s grand opening in Warrenton. The store is planning a week of celebrations beginning March 29 at its new location on Veterans Memorial Parkway at the …
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The long wait is over for Rural King’s grand opening in Warrenton. The store is planning a week of celebrations beginning March 29 at its new location on Veterans Memorial Parkway at the Shoppes at Warrenton mall.
“We’re excited for the community to see what we have,” said Rural King live animal specialist Christy Davis. She’s one of the people helping plan the grand opening celebration.
Davis said the week will include food, daily merchandise giveaways, and on certain days live animals for visitors to enjoy.
Rural King corporate officers will visit the store April 2 for an official ribbon cutting alongside Warrenton city leaders and members of the business community.
“We want to open our doors and share our excitement with everybody,” Davis said.
The Rural King store is 90,000-square-feet of home goods, pet supplies, hunting equipment, hardware, clothing and, of course, farm supplies. Davis said staff have spent a long time stocking the shelves and are now eager for the store opening.
Going forward, Davis said the Rural King staff look forward to being involved in local events and helping with youth programs such as 4-H and FFA.
Rural King is the new anchor store for the Shoppes at Warrenton mall. The mall’s owners and Warrenton city officials are optimistic the farm and home store will drive commercial traffic to the mall and revitalize the shopping center.
Crews broke ground at the Rural King site in May 2019. It is the first major development project near the mall since the construction of a new Interstate 70 interchange a short distance to the west.
“The store looks fabulous. ... I think they’re going to be a very positive addition to our community,” said Warrenton City Administrator Terri Thorn. “It’s exciting. It’s finally really going to be here.”
Rural King is receiving considerable assistance from the city of Warrenton to establish a store here. The city’s board of aldermen in 2018 approved up to $5 million in tax increment financing (TIF) for Rural King. TIF is a system in which certain development costs are reimbursed using new tax revenue generated as a result of the development.
The assistance from the city is tied to Rural King meeting certain performance criteria, including demonstrating strong sales.
