News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
After months of negotiations, Bi-Mart has finally signed a lease with Helmut Junge, owner of Three Wind Shopping Center.
The Pacific Northwest-based retailer will remodel and move into the former site of Ray's Food Place some time this summer.
"There's been no definite grand opening date set yet," said Bi-Mart director of marketing Don Leber. "We're going to shoot for next
summer."
The retailer must remodel the interior and exterior of the store, with the outside being updated to conform more closely with Sisters' Western theme. According to Leber, the store will stock the same kinds of items ranging from household items to sporting goods found at other Bi-Mart stores.
"It'll be just like all of our stores," he said. "All the merchandise and everything will be the same."
Leber said that Bi-Mart will start hiring for the store two-and-a-half to three months from opening.
"We could start taking applications some time in late May-early June, but I don't have a timeline yet," he said.
Prospective employees should watch for advertisements for jobs in The Nugget, Leber said.
The arrival of Bi-Mart this summer is sure to be welcome news to other businesses in the Three Wind Shopping Center, who have been anticipating the move for months. Ray's Food Place moved to its new location last November, leaving the shopping center with no anchor tenant - and an empty parking lot.
Bi-Mart is a membership store, requiring a nominal $5 fee for family membership. The first Bi-Mart store opened in Yakima, Washington, in 1955. Bi-Mart has since become a chain of 70 stores. The chain has been employee-owned since 2004.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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