Mills Fleet Farm is a store that stocks for all seasons.
Come fall, the spring and summertime lawn and garden section transforms into Santa's Toyland.
With a selection of ammunition and more than 600 guns in stock, customers can always shop for hunting season. The candy section contains every shape and form of candy corn imaginable - plus all the nuts needed for holiday baking.
"If you have a sweet tooth, we can satisfy it," said Ken Frey, Fleet Farm's vice president of store support services. "We're still here to service the farmer. (But) we've just got so much more than that."
Starting Wednesday at 7 a.m. Northland residents will have the chance to see all that for themselves as the new Fleet Farm in Hermantown opens its doors to the public. The company's 36th store - and first in Northeastern Minnesota - stands at about 183,000 square feet, Frey said, and is expected to bring 200 jobs to the area.
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The store has been in the works for nearly two years; construction on the $18 million store, on a 35-acre site just south of Hom Furniture and west of Sam's Club, started last summer.
Frey said that besides customer service, Fleet Farm's strength is the variety of its products.
"We have just about everything a do-it-yourselfer would need," he said during an open house at the store on Tuesday.
Among Fleet Farm's aisles of tools and car maintenance items is one lined with drawers of nuts, bolts and washers, all sold by the pound. The store's apparel section carries several national brands of denim, including Levi's and Lee, and a variety of shoes and boots for work, snow or rain. There's also clothing for working outdoors: fluorescent-yellow visibility suits, scrubs and heavy-duty overalls, including the popular Carhartt brand, Frey said.
"(For) people who work outdoors ... we've got every type of insulated bib overall," Frey said.
The store also stocks for outdoor recreation: fishing rods, tackle, live bait, guns, ammunition, bikes, kayaks - the list goes on.
Fleet Farm's automotive department includes a service center that can assist with tire or oil changes. The auto department also stocks more than 1,000 tires for someone who needs them fast, Frey said.
In an effort to become even more of a one-stop shop, Fleet Farm also has incorporated a small refrigerated section with foods such as pizza and milk.
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Duncan Mac Naughton, Fleet Farm's chief executive officer, said the Fleet Farm in Hermantown marks a new period of growth and expansion for the company. Earlier this year the Brainerd-based company was sold to KKR, a global investment firm that has stated its intention to grow the business.
Mac Naughton said he hopes Duluth-area customers will appreciate the breadth of goods and products Fleet Farm has for sale.
"We are so excited to open this new store for this community," Mac Naughton said. "You're going to see that we make it very difficult for any other retailer to compete with us."
Mac Naughton said the store is offering a promotion for customers' first in-store purchase: 10 percent off their whole basket.
Hugh Leasum, Fleet Farm's chief operating officer, presented Hermantown Police Chief Jim Crace with a $3,000 donation for the department on Tuesday as gesture of appreciation to the local officers and the community.
Leasum said the company is glad to finally open the doors to the long-awaited store.
"I know for a lot of people, it's been a long time coming," he said. "Every department we have - you'll see - is a destination."
