by Steve Reinbrecht
An unusual, to me, big-box chain store has opened in an old
supermarket in a strip mall on Route 422 in South Heidelberg Township.
I didn’t ever visit Tractor Supply Company since it opened July
23 because I don’t have a tractor.
But thinking about economic development in
the area led me to look inside on Black Friday. The company says it has 1,500
stores across the country, but I have never seen one quite like it.
Out of beet-pulp horse treats? Get a 40-pound bag off the
shelf.
Aisles are full of all kinds of tools and fasteners, so
close to home. I hate driving through Sinking Spring to Lowe’s in the middle of
a project.
Country music over speakers and country music for sale.
Big signs say things like “Clothing & Boots,” “Welding
& Tools,” Truck &Trailer.”
Log splitters to fit any budget. Propane heaters, small to barn-size.
Gun-cleaning kits. Generators. Bits and bridles. Fencing. Animal traps. Truck tool
boxes. All sorts of tires and wheels, for carts, trailers, tractors,
wheelbarrows ….
Hydraulic hoses. Everything you need to erect an electric
fence. Pig food, and the feed bins to slop it into. “Young Rider” and “Modern
Farmer” magazines. Gourmet dog food. Racks of clothes, with displays of
camouflage and overalls.
One shopper told me she had been going to Myerstown for
supplies she can now find here.
A man walking out the door with a roll of wire screening
under his arm said he lives nearby and has shopped there many times since it
opened.
“For things you can’t get at other places, like this.”
The manager said she was not permitted to answer any of my
questions, not even, “How’s business?” or “What can I get here that I can’t get at
Lowe’s?” She called HQ on my behalf and found out that I must not even take
photos.
The company, based in Brentwood, Tenn., spent $500,000 on
turning the former Shurfine supermarket, which closed in 2013, into the big-box
chain store, according to a building permit filed with the township April 12.
In a boilerplate news release, TSC said it chose the spot at 4750 Penn Ave. just west of Sinking Spring because there are so many horse farms and
family farms in the area. It said the store has 13 employees.
The website says it sells things to help people “maintain
their farms, ranches, homes and animals,” citing “the ‘do it yourself’ trend.”
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