By NATE KING
Salina Post
Stutzmans Garden Center is preparing to open its new location at Salina Central Mall parking lot in early April, pending weather conditions.
The garden center, known for its wide selection of plants, flowers, and gardening supplies, is moving into a 20,000-square-foot space near the mall’s newly developed concrete pad site.
“We will be right at the entrance of the Salina Central Mall, so as you drive in, you’ll see us,” said Stutzmans President and CEO Ben Miller. “If you’re coming from Starbucks, you’ll be looking right at us.”
In the days leading up to the store’s tentative April 1 opening, Stutzmans employees will begin assembling a shade structure, a familiar feature from its former location at Ninth and Cloud streets.
On March 18, Randy Parks, who manages maintenance and trucking operations for Stutzmans, worked with a team to assemble the structure. As part of the final preparations, employees will also install fencing around the new site to enhance security.
“When we're all done there, we're gonna come back and build a fence all the way around with five eight-foot gates,” Parks said. “At night, in the dark, it could be a grab-and-go deal on the backside. So for security, we'd lock the gates up.”
With multiple locations to prepare, Stutzman's employees are balancing setup work across several garden centers.
“We got this sitting here, but we're running over to Wichita to get those ready to open. We’ve got three there—we don’t normally set this one [Salina] because it stays up all year,” Parks said. “We’ve got 11 garden centers, so we go through and get all the shade cloth, all the water lines open, all that stuff ready to roll.”
In addition to the move, Stutzmans is hosting its annual spring, summer, and fall garden show from 7:30 to 8 a.m. on Saturdays on 910 KINA.
On March 22 at 9:30 a.m., Miller will be a guest on the 910 KINA Saturday Morning Show with Dave and Nate to discuss the relocation and the company’s long-standing presence in north-central Kansas.
For more information about Stutzmans Garden Center, visit here.