What is Being Built Next to Menards? An In-Depth Guide to New Construction Adjacent to the Popular Home Improvement Store

Hey there! As a home improvement expert with over 10 years of experience, I‘m excited to provide you with an in-depth guide to the new construction happening next to Menards stores. Menards is one of my go-to places for quality tools and materials at a good price, so I always appreciate when new stores open up right next door! It creates a handy one-stop shop.

In this guide, I‘ll give you some background on Menards, break down the types of businesses popping up beside existing locations, share some real-world examples, discuss why this construction is happening, and what we might see next. Let‘s get started!

All About Menards – America‘s Third Largest Home Improvement Retailer

For those not familiar, Menards is a popular Midwest home improvement chain. It was founded in 1960 by John Menard Jr. in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Today, there are over 305 Menards stores located throughout the Midwest. Here are some key stats about this retail giant:

• Annual revenue (2021): $12.76 billion
• Number of stores: 305
• Store locations: Midwest & parts of the West and South
• Typical store size: 160,000 – 240,000 square feet
• Product categories: Tools, lumber, appliances, flooring, kitchen and bath, lighting, hardware, lawn & garden, and more

Menards offers top national brands alongside its own private label products. This helps them provide quality merchandise at very low prices. Based on my experience, they have some of the best deals out there for appliances, power tools, lumber, and flooring.

The company is still owned by the Menard family and maintains its headquarters in Eau Claire. Under current company president John Menard Jr., Menards has expanded rapidly through new store openings. Their locations are known for absolutely massive retail spaces – some exceeding 240,000 square feet!

New Businesses Setting Up Shop Next Door

As Menards aggressively opens new stores and expands existing ones, you may have noticed some additional construction happening on adjacent vacant land. Here are the main businesses popping up right next to Menards lately:

Harbor Freight Tools

One of the most frequent new neighbors for Menards is Harbor Freight Tools. This popular discount retailer offers an enormous selection of affordable tools, equipment, and accessories. According to Harbor Freight‘s website, they have opened new locations next to Menards stores in at least 10 states recently.

For example, last year they opened an 18,000 square foot store right beside the Menards in Avon, Indiana. Having Harbor Freight nearby gives shoppers access to even more tools and equipment at budget-friendly price points.

Harbor Freight Locations Recently Opened Adjacent to Menards

Grocery Stores and Markets

Another common new neighbor for Menards is grocery stores and specialty food markets. For instance, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a store called The Market at Thornberry Creek was built in a former Menards space next door.

The Market emphasizes natural, organic, locally-sourced items. They have a great deli, bakery, produce section, and even a craft beer area! This gives community members a convenient place to grab quality groceries while also shopping at Menards for home improvement goodies.

Retail Shopping Plazas

Some of the new construction near Menards comes in the form of entire retail plazas with multiple stores and restaurants. For example, in Avon, Indiana a 15 acre retail development called The Landing was recently built adjacent to Menards.

The Landing includes big-box stores like Marshalls and HomeGoods, along with quick-service restaurants like Starbucks. With numerous stores clustered together, customers can run all their errands at once.

Other Big Box Retailers

In certain cases, other huge retail chains have moved in right beside Menards stores. These two big box giants paired together create a one-stop-shop for shoppers.

For instance, in Chesterton, Indiana, a 90,000 square foot Rural King farm and home store opened up next to the Menards recently. Rural King offers an extensive selection of tools, lawn equipment, agricultural supplies, and more. Customers can easily visit both stores to find everything they need for big home and yard projects.

Why Build Right Next to Menards?

You might be wondering, why do so many businesses want to build right beside existing Menards locations? There are several strategic reasons for this trend:

• Increased Foot Traffic: Having additional retail stores next door helps drive more foot traffic to that area and brings new customers to Menards.

• One-Stop Shopping: Clustering multiple stores together allows customers to conveniently get everything they need in one single trip. This makes the overall shopping center more enticing.

• Shared Infrastructure: Building on land adjoining Menards enables new stores to utilize existing infrastructure like parking lots, roads, and utilities. This keeps construction costs lower.

• Name Recognition: Newer retailers benefit from having a well-known anchor brand like Menards nearby. The established name draws shoppers in who then check out the other stores.

• Room to Expand: Since Menards purchases large land plots, they often have extra unused space around current stores. This allows them to strike deals with new retailers looking for a prime spot to build.

What Does the Future Hold?

In the past few years, we‘ve seen all kinds of new restaurants, shops, grocery stores and more constructed right beside Menards stores. But what can we expect to see next? Based on current real estate trends and Menards‘ strategic priorities, here are my predictions:

• More Harbor Freight Stores – Harbor Freight will likely continue opening new locations adjacent to Menards. They have an aggressive growth strategy and the two brands complement each other nicely.

• Increased Food Options – From grocery stores to fast food joints, more food retailers will likely build near Menards to drive traffic and offer convenience. Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A are top contenders.

• Expanded Retail Plazas – We‘ll see more large, mixed-use retail developments next to Menards rather than just standalone stores. These retail "power centers" help make Menards an anchor destination.

• E-Commerce and Delivery Services – Menards will strengthen its online ordering and delivery capabilities to keep up with trends. We might even see dedicated e-commerce fulfillment centers built next door.

• Sustainable New Stores – To align with eco-initiatives, new construction next to Menards will likely utilize solar power, eco-friendly building materials, EV charging stations and more.

No matter what ends up being built near Menards locations, it‘s clear these new neighboring stores provide major benefits to shoppers. Retail clustering allows us to conveniently tackle big home improvement projects by getting everything we need in one quick trip!

I hope this guide gave you some helpful insight into the businesses popping up next to Menards lately. Let me know if you have any other questions!