The new Keizer location of Cascade Farm and Outdoor will open its doors at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1. The first 500 customers will receive a free Carhartt hat.
Free giveaways are also planned for the first 500 customers on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2 and 3.
Employees were bustling through aisles, sorting nuts and bolts, assembling display items and getting trained on the cash registers Friday, July 26.
Don Leber, Bi-Mart’s vice president of advertising and marketing, said a lot of things came together for the business when it chose Keizer for its third location.
“We’ve been looking at locations throughout the northwest, but this site came available and we thought it would be a great opportunity to get a store along Interstate 5 and get into a bigger metropolitan area,” Leber said.
Cascade Farm and Outdoor is a division of Bi-Mart and both are employee-owned. Unlike Bi-Mart, no membership is needed to shop at Cascade.
“We know how much our customer service is key to our success and our employees are the most critical aspect of that approach,” Leber said.
Customers can sign up for an incentive program that automatically enters them to win a Traeger Grill, DeWalt cordless kit or a Yeti cooler. Eager beavers can stop by the store between now and the opening to sign up for the Added Value program in advance.
Cascade got its start five years ago in Walla Walla, Wash., where an empty Bi-Mart was converted into the first Cascade shop. Two years after that, a second location opened in Coos Bay.
“Our success with Cascade Farm and Outdoor in Coos Bay set our sights on other opportunities– we’ll be a great fit for Keizer and the greater Salem area,” said Bi-Mart President Rich Truett.
The new store, located in the old Roth’s building at 5013 River Road N., will focus on ranch and farm supplies, feed, equine supplies, lawn and garden equipment, sporting goods, pet supplies and outdoor apparel. Departments include: automotive, sporting goods, hardware, lawn and garden, pet food and supplies, clothing, farm and ranch, equine and livestock care, footwear, outdoor power equipment, home, and grocery.
“We have name brands that customers won’t necessarily find in a discount store like Bi-Mart,” Leber said. “There’s also a larger selection. We have a sporting goods section in Bi-Mart locations, but the one customers find at Cascade is much more extensive.”
On the whole, the company tries to avoid overlap in the items the two stores offer.
“About 85 percent of the products we have in Cascade are unique to these stores,” Leber said.
Store hours will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday 9 to 6 p.m.
