The company — which sells housewares, lawn care equipment, pet supplies, farm equipment, agricultural parts, and other items for the home and farm — is moving into the Ohio market aggressively, opening a Gallipolis store last week and a St. Clairsville store in the coming weeks, and another four to five stores across the state in 2o13, Patterson said. Rural King is considering two more stores in the greater Dayton area, he said. The departure of Quality Farm & Fleet stores from Ohio several years ago “left a void” in the retail market for stores such as Rural King, Patterson said.
“Ohio is wide open, and it seems to be very business-friendly,” Patterson said. “It’s our growth vehicle right now.”
Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Mattoon, Ill., Rural King now has stores in seven states. The Huber Heights location was the retail chain’s 57th.
“This is actually an amazing turnaround to get something in quickly into a big box store like this,” Scott Falkowski, Huber Heights interim assistant city manager, said in August when the store was announced. “You don’t want a building to turn into an eyesore. Getting somebody in quickly is very good for the community. It’s a use we don’t really have, and it’s another one of those stores that will benefit a lot of residents around here.”
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