Tractor Supply Co. joining Aldi at former Chattanooga area Kmart site

February 8, 2018 at 1:00 a.m. | Updated February 8, 2018 at 12:39 a.m.

by Mike Pare

Ruben Chavez, a contractor with Bestway Construction, holds a beam so a coworker can cut the beam to fit at B&B Discount Sales Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The two were creating a new wall, so the one already there can be demolished to make room for a free-standing Aldi.
Ruben Chavez, a contractor with Bestway Construction, holds a beam so a coworker can cut the beam to fit at B&B Discount Sales Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The two were creating a new wall, so the one already there can be demolished to make room for a free-standing Aldi.

A Tractor Supply Co. store is expected to join grocer Aldi in the reuse of another former Chattanooga area Kmart site.

The building at 680 Signal Mountain Road has been home to B&B Discount Sales for several years. But that business ultimately could move to a Red Bank location, owner Duane "Bud" Hixson said.

"This 42,000 square feet is going to be worth more to somebody else than it is to me," he said. "In the next six months we'll see where we are."

An Aldi official said the grocer plans to open a store later this year, though it's finalizing details. Last year, the company submitted drawings to the city of Chattanooga for a freestanding store at the site.

About Tractor Supply Co.

› Based: Brentwood, Tenn.› Stores: 1,685 in 49 states› Revenue: $7.26 billion*› Profit: $422.6 million*› Employees: 26,000* Figures for 2017Source: Tractor Supply Co.

Tractor Supply spokeswoman Grace Stewart said the retailer plans to start work in March on a 22,300-square-foot store in part of the existing former Kmart.

Depending on work going smoothly, it likely would open this summer, she said.

Based in Brentwood, Tenn., the retail chain offers products for home improvement, agriculture, and lawn and garden maintenance as well as livestock, equine and pet care goods. There are already a handful of Tractor Supply stores in the Chattanooga area, including in Fort Oglethorpe, Ooltewah and Cleveland, Tenn.

Stewart said each store tends to employ between 12 and 15 people.

With the new Tractor Supply store and part of the existing former Kmart building being sheared away to make room for Aldi, that will leave about 40,000 square feet of space.

Hixson said he earlier bought the former Bi-Lo store on Dayton Boulevard where he has 30,000 square feet that could provide a retail use. But he said he'd potentially need warehouse space for his goods, which includes discounted furniture, electronics and other household goods.

Hixson has operated a store in the old Kmart location off Signal Mountain Road for the past eight years.

In 2016, he converted a closed Food Lion supermarket on Hixson Pike near Big Ridge Road into another version of the store. That store features about 29,000 square feet.

"My business is good," Hixson said. "We're tickled."

Last summer, discount grocer Aldi appeared ready to move ahead with its new store near Signal Mountain. A design firm for the company submitted a building permit application and extensive drawings to the city in a construction job valued at $1.1 million, but nothing was built.

This week, Troy Marshall, a division vice president for Aldi, said in a statement that plans are for a 2018 opening.

"We'll be in touch with more specifics regarding the grand opening date," he said.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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