Source: The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.self storageDec. 16--Round Barn True Value Hardware has been in its same location nearly 40 years, but next March it plans to move to bigger quarters in Champaign's Country Fair Shopping Center.Owner Bob Cooper said the new True Value store will occupy 15,000 square feet between CVS Pharmacy and This Is It Furniture."The store's going to be brighter and more spacious, with more specials and easier access in and out for shoppers' convenience," Cooper said.Plus, it will have lines of merchandise the current 10,000-square-foot space at 2010 Round Barn Road, C, can't accommodate, including lawn mowers, patio furniture and top-selling lumber items, Cooper said.The impetus for the move was the drop-off in foot traffic the store experienced after the nearby Jerry's IGA closed in September 2010.That supermarket, just west of the hardware store, drew in shoppers, and Cooper said that when it closed, he lost an average of 150 customers a day.He said he lost about the same number when the Round Barn post office closed. A full-service post office operated at the Round Barn shopping center until 1991, and was succeeded by a postal contract station that closed in 2008.Cooper said when the Round Barn Restaurant, The Body Firm, the post office and Jerry's IGA were all operating, the hardware store was selling more than $200 per square foot of store _ a figure that astounded corporate officials at True Value.Now Cooper and his wife, Arlayne, hope to recoup that foot traffic by moving to what they feel is a more visible location."We've had more than six months to plan this out," he said. "We've had team experts from corporate who laid out easy access in and out."The new store, at 245-B S. Mattis Ave., will feature a "power aisle" with departments to the left and right."Everything will be visible as you walk through the store," Cooper said.Cooper said it will take several weeks to move everything to the new store, and True Value will operate from both locations during the transition. The lease for the current store expires March 31.A grand opening for the new store at Country Fair will be scheduled in April, with door prizes to be awarded and representatives of Weber, Scotts and other product lines expected to be on hand.The Round Barn store opened in 1974, and Cooper _ a former manager for Zales jewelry stores at Urbana's Lincoln Square and Champaign's Market Place _ became manager of the hardware store in 1981. He later became part-owner and finally full owner.It's a family effort. Arlayne Cooper does bookkeeping, ordering and receiving, and sons Lance and Brandon work there too.Longtime employees include manager Bob Woodard, who has been there 33 years, and cashier Carla Fuller, with 24 years of service. Plus, the store has nine part-time employees.At Country Fair, True Value will be close to another grocery _ Ruler Foods, which is expected to open in a few weeks, Cooper said.Of cou迷你倉se, the new hardware store will need to drop the Round Barn moniker, so staff will likely answer the phone with "True Value, Springfield at Mattis," he said.Cooper said he's considering lengthening store hours to coincide with CVS hours."If anything, we'll lengthen hours on weekends and evening," he said.___BankChampaign has posted notice that it will close its branch office in the M2 building at 301 N. Neil St., C, on Dec. 31.The bank was one of the first businesses to lease space in the building. It opened there in November 2009.Accounts are being transferred to the bank's main office at 2101 S. Neil St., C.Bank President Mark Ballard said the closing was a way to reduce overhead and maintain shareholder returns.He said the cost of complying with government regulations is escalating and profit margins at community banks are expected to narrow."We are fully staffed at our other locations so no one at the M2 branch will be with us after Dec. 31," Ballard said.Employees were given four months' notice, and those who don't have jobs by Dec. 31 will be given a severance package.Ballard called the closing "an extremely difficult thing to do."___Wendy's opened a new location in the Illini Union Food Court on Tuesday.Situated on the lower level of the Illini Union, the restaurant will operate from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.Wendy's was one of the top five restaurant preferences in a student survey last year, according to Lori Holmes, the manager of vendor contracts.The fast-food chain already has a Campustown location at 608 S. Sixth St., C.___Bonnie Post, who operated the Coco-Bon Gourmet store in Springfield from 2005 to 2009, is bringing her chocolate business to Champaign-Urbana.Post, a broker with Keller Williams Realty, has started Chocolate Enrapture, which sells truffles, turtles, caramel apples with pecans and chocolate, and holiday-oriented truffles.She began selling them at the Holiday Market at Urbana's Lincoln Square last weekend and will continue selling them there this weekend and next weekend. Plus, she has an online site, chocolateenrapture.com.Post can be reached at 622-5331.___Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County is offering gift-wrapping services in the Bergner's wing of Champaign's Market Place Mall from noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 15, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 16-23 and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 24.All money earned at the gift-wrapping booth will go directly to building homes, hope and a stronger community, according to a Habitat release.Habitat is seeking volunteer gift wrappers. Those interested can call Kim Gollings at 819-5110 or email her at outreach@cuhabitat.org.___Contact Don Dodson at 351-5227 or 800-252-3346, or by email at dodson@news-gazette.com.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The News-Gazette (Champaign, Ill.) Visit The News-Gazette (Champaign, Ill.) at .news-gazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉樂器
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