Content about Kansas

Among the new design elements of Westlake Ace Hardware’s Bolivar, Mo., location are an open-air entranceway, unique signing and decor, and browse-friendly lifestyle categories situated in the center of the store.

Home improvement retailer Menards is postponing its plans to enter the Kansas City market over concerns that “economic conditions will worsen,” according to an article in The Kansas City Star.

Company spokesman Jeff Abbott told the newspaper the Eau Claire, Wis.-based company will not be building planned units in Belton, Mo.; Kansas City Northland and Overland Park, Kan. 

Jim’s Builders Hardware in Wichita, Kan., is closing after more than three decades, according to an article in The Wichita Eagle.

“We’re just closing because of the economy,” owner Jeanne McKiernan told the paper. “It’s really a melancholy situation. We didn’t want to close.”

According to an article in the Garden City (Kan.) Telegram, a Menards will break ground this month on the perimeter of the city.

The paper described the new project as the first phase of a $67.2 million retail shopping center. Leading the development is Charlotte, N.C.-based commercial real estate firm Collett & Associates. The 60-acre development is expected to eventually include a Sam’s Club, but not until a later phase of construction. 

Tulsa, Okla.-based Mill Creek has plans to open a showroom, door shop and truss manufacturing plant in northern Wichita, Kan., according to an article in the Wichita Eagle.

Jeff Dunn, Mill Creek’s president, told the newspaper he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the city and wants to position the company for the inevitable upturn in new-home building.

The Overland Park, Kan.-based hardware store plans to open its fifth location next month, according to The Kansas City Star.

A sixth location for the company is also being scouted.

A 16,000-sq.-ft. store will be the operator’s third location in Overland Park. Plans are for the store to open in mid-April, according to the article.

Later in the summer, a store might open in Shawnee, but no deal has been cemented. Nuts and Bolts also currently operates in Independence and Bonner Springs.

The Wichita Eagle reported that the Dondlinger family of Dondlinger and Sons Construction plans to add two more Williams Ace Hardware stores. 

The Goddard and Andover, Kan., locations are expected to open in the coming months. The family already owns the Williams Ace Hardware in Wichita.

According to an article in the Wichita Business Journal, Worthington Industries has no plans for workforce reductions in its new Maize, Kan., plant. 

Columbus, Ohio-based Worthington took over the Maize plant, where pressure cylinders are made, from Coleman Co. According to the newspaper, Worthington bought the plant for $23 million. It has about 70 employees.

Morrison Supply Co., the fourth-largest distributor of plumbing and HVAC supplies in the United States, has sold a majority share to private equity firm Advent International.

Founded in 1917, Morrison is now the largest distributor of plumbing supplies in the southwestern United States. The company has 77 branches and showrooms, located in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and Kansas. Morrison has several lines of business, including plumbing, heating, ventilation & air conditioning (HVAC), industrial pipes, valves & fittings, oil & gas and waterworks.

Animal lovers and shopping mall owners are waging a stealth battle over a prairie dog colony next to a Home Depot store in Hutchinson, Kan. According to an article in the Hutch News, the colony of burrowing rodents, which has existed next to the store for years, recently began expanding into open land south of the mall. So the property management has been placing sandbags on top of the new holes for several weeks. 

Luxury appliance maker Thermador and Portfolio Kitchen & Home, the Midwest’s kitchen and home design resource, announced today the launch of the Thermador Culinary Studio with more than eight live professional appliances at Portfolio’s Flagship Store in the heart of Kansas City.

With a nod toward sustainability, Lenexa, Kan.-based Westlake Ace Hardware will offer an inkjet cartridge refilling service at six stores.