Blain’s makes room in Grafton by giving away Shopko remnants

The new Blain’s Farm and Fleet planned for Grafton offered free fixtures from the former Shopko store on Tuesday as it began renovating the inside of the building.

Farm and Fleet announced in June it would be opening a store in the former Shopko building, which has sat empty since 2019, at 1771 Wisconsin Ave.

The Grafton Area Chamber of Commerce announced the Farm and Fleet would be moving salvageable counters, display shelves and other fixtures to the front of the store for pick up in a Sept. 25 Facebook post.

The post stated that unneeded fixtures would be placed outside for pickup at 1 p.m. as a means to benefit the community and environment.

“It is our intention to be good neighbors and stewards of the environment by minimizing the amount of material that goes in the dumpster,” the post stated.

Local businesses and nonprofits were given first choice of the fixtures during a dedicated hour for area organizations from 1 to 2 p.m.

 After 2 p.m., the remaining fixtures were available on a first come, first serve basis.

Farm and Fleet crews were to return to the site on Wednesday to remove and pitch the remaining fixtures.

The new store will take up 94,500 square feet of the building and there are plans to add a 66,000 square-foot enclosed outdoor area for pickup and an additional 11,000 feet of space for an auto center, shipping and receiving space and customer entrance.

Officials said the retail store is expected to create 100 jobs that will be a mix of full-time and part-time positions, including store managers, cashiers, department product experts and auto service technicians and managers. The company is planning to host job fairs in the summer and fall of 2022.

Construction of the addition is projected to be completed by fall of 2022 and open that year.

Blain’s Farm & Fleet was founded in 1955 and has 43 stores in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa.