New Menards South is officially open

The new Menards South located at 41 south and 641 is officially open at 6:30 this morning. Terre Haute now has two Menards.

When Lowes came to town their competition Furrows, 84, Carter, went out of business.

Have to wait and see if this to see if this is the end of Lowes.

A Menards opened up last year half a mile from Home Depot. If it hurt HD's sales, you wouldn't know it; HD parking lot is still packed.

I like Menards for a few things. They stock repair kits for frostproof sillcocks and yard hydrants. When replacing some hollow doors with six-panel wood doors, I found the Menards doors to be of much better quality than HD's Jeld-Wen doors. But for most stuff I go to HD; the store is smaller and I can get in and out of HD much faster than I can at Menards. And when there's a nearby traditional hardware store, that's usually my first choice.

So it seems, Lowes has better prices than Home Depot, and Menards has better prices than them both, however they all price match each other.

The menards is about 15 minutes north of me before I65 was turned into die65 with all the construction. For now I hit HD unless I have a big list then take back roads to menards.

Locally, a new O'Riley's auto parts store is being built directly across the main artery from Auto Zone and about 200 yards from Advance Auto Parts.

There has never been an O'Riley's anywhere close and I've never been inside one, but I've heard that they are a leader.

When Auto Zone and Advance opened about 15 years ago, two NAPA stores closed within a couple of years (one remains, but it's a shadow of it's former self).

Time will tell.

Dean

Menards here is a total JOKE lots of cheap priced JUNK there and worthless employees and management, if you cant tell I do not spend a dime there after the first visit

Wish they'd open one closer to me! Nearest is about an hour and a half. Beats Lowes and HD by FAR...

When I traveled out west in 2017 I had trouble with the fan belt on my F250. It would shred every once in a while. I found an Oreilly almost everywhere. They warrantied the belt twice. Finally it took the outer rib off and ran the rest of the trip. Turned out it was one of the pulleys worn a track just off center. It was handy having so many stores nationwide.

Does Menards give a 10% veterans discount like HD and Lowes?

A Menards just opened on I-75 a few miles south of Cincinnati. It is a nice, neat, clean store. On my first trip I bought a couple of things just because I was there. I like Rural King better because I can buy fasteners by the pound instead of a plastic pack that has 2 bolts in it. Ellis

No, I checked.

It is nice at Lowes with their military discount. At the register all I have to do is give my phone number and the register automatically deducts 10% from the entire bill.

Menard's, Lowe's, and Home Depot are just like TSC, Orscheln's, etc., etc. The inventory all comes from the same place. Some of it is good, some of it is not so good. We need all of them just so they will keep each other honest.

I'm a small contractor and spend maybe $80K per year on materials.
The breakdown on that is probably 65% Home Depot, 25% specialty vendors and 10% Menards.
Menards IS cheaper on pretty much everything. And everything is usually of inferior quality.
And I don't like going to Menards.
Let's say I need 40 8' studs.
1) Wait in line at the lumber desk to put in my order.
2) Wait in line at the cashier to pay for everything.
3) Wait in line to get in the gate.
4) Get to the lumber barn and find out the studs are nothing but culls and they won't open another cube.
5) Get disgusted and drive out.
6) Wait at the gate to get out of the yard while they look in my windows and truck bed and sometimes want me to open my truck boxes and act like I'm stealing something from them.
7) Go inside and wait to "return" the studs I never picked up.
8) Wait at least 2 says for Menards to electronically refund my debit card.
9) Flip the bird to the entire Menards outfit as I wait at the stop light to get the heck out of there.

Walmart with lumber

My wife worked for Lowes for 15 years before she passed 4 1/2 years ago. Menards moved in about 5 years after she started to work for Lowes and built just across the street. Menards thought they could use Lowes parking lot for everything. Naturaly that did not go over good and Lowes employes were not welcome in that store. Wife transfered to a new Lowes after 7 years that was a third the distance of the first one. Couple of years later Menards built more stores around Lowes employes were welcomed. Each sells different things but Menards is 3 times the size of Lowes. But the customers for Lowes that were close to the first Lowes bypassed it to come to the second she worked at. And both Newer Menards are about 20 Miles from the Lowes she worked at. So I don't think Lowes there are going to be hurt by Menards. After the second and third Menards we as well as other Lowes employes shopped there. And if both carried same items Menards were cheaper that Lowes with the 10% emploey discount. I no longer get the discount after she passed. Home Depo built a new store a couple of years after she started working at first Lowes. One of he fellow employes at Lowes had a kid working at HD so that were alwasy knowing what HD sales were and total sales were not enought to just pay electric bill at Lowes and within about 5 years the HD store dissapered, not just empty but the 5 year old building gone and the one in bigger town 50 mile away also dissapered. I don't know if the HD south of me is still there or not. But those were the only 3 HD that I ever heard of. After all this time I can now go into the Menards that would not let Lowes employes in to shop with no problems.

Lucky for us we still have a Mom & Pop (40 something?s own it) lumberyard. I buy almost everything from them. They are competitive on most things. Sometimes they are not but I buy it from then anyway. Here is some of the reasons why; 1st, they are local ownership with kids, 2nd, they support and are part of the community, 3rd, I can drive in the yard, load what I need, go to the office tell them what I loaded, they charge my account, 4th, if I want to buy a single nut, I can buy just 1, 5th, I?ve NEVER experienced any of the frustrations listed below at there store........

Yes it is. Works the same for me. Really nice when you buy a big-ticket item like a kitchen appliance or trailer. Got $90 off when I bought a trailer there a few years ago.

Tony ..... good for you, not sure how many have read your reply but you need some recognition. Sometimes it is hard doing that, a can of paint for $25 one place and maybe $40 in another. Nevertheless, you are supporting the local retail guy who in turn is supporting the community. Good for both of you !!!

I searched the web, I don't think Menards is in Canada (well at least not yet). Do we really need another big hardware/lumber store? I don't think we do, I find it difficult enough already to decide where to shop.

Within 5-6 minutes of my house (depending on the lights) we have a Lowes, a Home Depot, a Home Building Center, two Ronas, and then add to that two Canadian Tires, two Wally Worlds, a Peavey Mart and then for groceries we have a Costco, two Safeways, three Save On Foods, and two Sobeys. Add to that a variety of mom & pop places and you know where I am coming from. For dining out, it would take me a half day to list all the places, crazy world.

I let my wife do the grocery shopping, I buy nuts and bolts and 2x4's at the other places.

That is the same thing I hear from contractors here,, I see some say they give a discount,, I just went on to HD here as my swamp cooler (water cooler/AC for dry climates went bad, they had one zi liked regular price was 629.00,, they had already marked it down too 529.00 for end of season sales,, I asked the manger on duty if they would deal any more or did they want to store it all winter ,, she said sure what are you thinking, I said I would do 429.00 plus tax she said No Problem at all do you need help loading it? thought it was a great deal,, I buy all my farm items from HD if they have it,, things they dont I can find at one of the two farm/ranch type stores, Tractor Supply and Baumgarrs

Lowe?s left the shopping hub town near me. Think they are hurting as a corporation, lost the battle.

Home Deopt seems to be doing well there.

The Menards in that town was so busy, people coming from 100 miles away cross state lines, they ended up building a Nenards in my small town only 25 minutes away. It?s been running close to 10 years now I think, expanded twice.

There are 2 old fashioned lumber yards in my town, mom and pop. One is kinda poorly run looks like the old generation just wants to run it outa gas and hand it off to the incompetent next generation.... the other is doing pretty good. I see where contractors prefer the 2 mom and pop places.

Paul

You can be sure you are still paying less because of the big store's lower prices that keeps the small store from gouging customers on price.

Another big box store where the clerks don't know a hammer drill from a Newell post.

Gene

50 years ago I remember going to the mom and pop places. Waiting forever waiting for mom or pop to write up your order. Then getting order, then taking your money.

I hated spending half a day to buy one item.

That could be why mom and pop went out of business.

I'm great full for the box stores.