Menards opens two superstores

Menards opened two new large format stores on March 17, according to media reports. In Escanaba, Mich., a 246,000-sq.-ft. unit was unveiled, according to The Daily Press. Construction on the store, located on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, began in April 2008, the newspaper reported.

The industry’s third largest home improvement chain also opened a 240,000-sq.-ft. unit in Waukesha, Wis., according to Greater Milwaukee Today, an online news service. The Waukesha store will replace a Menards in the nearby town of Brookfield.

The new Wisconsin store is built on two levels, with glass escalators and a baby grand piano in the center of the retail floor. This is the third Menards store using this format; the other two are in St. Paul and a Chicago suburb, the news story said.

Based in Eau Claire, Wis., Menards operates 248 stores in 12 states.