Marvin’s pleased with 1st week

Store to hold ‘grand opening’ next weekend

Published Thursday, May 21, 2009

Marvin’s Building Materials and Home Center is now open for business.

First announced in February, the store is located in a 36,000 square-foot portion of the old Wal-Mart building. It held its soft opening Monday, and a two-day grand opening is set for Fri., May 29, and Sat., May 30.

Justin Morgan, Marvin’s yard department manager, said customers are filling the store daily.

“It’s been great,” Morgan said. “We’ve had a lot of customers come in and browse and shop. Marvin’s is similar to other name brand home improvement stores, but we’re not a big box store like Lowe’s or Home Depot.”

Inside Marvin’s, customers will find many of the same types of items needed for their home improvement projects, he said.

“We’ve got a full service lumber yard, a paint department, electrical, plumbing and lighting too,” he said. “We’ve got doors and windows, hardware, tools. We’ve even got a garden center with flowering plants, vegetables, shrubs and tropical plants.”

The building was originally slated to open in the summer, but workers finished up the construction well ahead of schedule. The new business employs approximately 40 people, he said.

“The people who work here have a real sense of ownership,” he said. “A lot of us did about 95 percent of the remodeling. We set shelves, stocked products and now, we’re here to help with any project you have.”

On Thursday, Charles and Mary Owens were found in Marvin’s shopping for a new storm door for their Crenshaw County home.

“We saw the store here being built,” Charles Owens said. “We had been going to Greenville, but this new store is closer to home for us. It’s great in here. We love it.”

Daniel Coon of Opp was also caught purchasing a new door — this one for a workshop.

Coon said the new store will save him time and gas when making his home improvement purchases.

“Before, I would have gone to Lowe’s in Enterprise for something like this,” he said. “Now, I can come to Andalusia.”

A board cutting ceremony — a hardware store version of a ribbing cutting ceremony — is set for Fri., May 29, at 10 a.m.