New Orscheln store set to open in former Kmart location

The doors at the Orscheln Farm & Home store at 338 Christine St. in Cape Girardeau were locked for the final time at the close of business Wednesday.

At 8 a.m. today, Orscheln will open at its new location, Cape Girardeau’s former Kmart building at 11 S. Kingshighway.

Orscheln announced in April 2019 it would move four blocks into the vacant Kmart building. At the time, Orscheln said it planned to relocate by late last year, but renovation of the former Kmart store didn’t begin in earnest until a few months ago.

With more than 50,000 square feet of retail space, the new store is about four times larger than Orscheln’s Christine Street location, allowing for a new sporting goods department that includes firearms and ammunition. It also includes more room for several other departments, including clothing and footwear, pet and livestock, hardware, and plumbing and electrical supplies.

“We are excited to be in a new location that is a better facility and easier for our customers to access,” said Randy Croney, Orscheln’s district manager. “Orscheln has been part of the Cape Girardeau community for many years, and we hope both longtime and new customers will stop in to see the new store.”

Headquartered in Moberly, Missouri, and established about 60 years ago, family-owned Orscheln Farm & Home operates 167 stores in 11 states — Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Texas.

The new Orscheln building has been vacant since Kmart’s “Big K” store there closed in November 2018. The 82,500-square-foot building is large enough to accommodate an additional business or retail operation, but, as of last week, a second tenant had not been identified, according to Orscheln marketing manager Becky Honey.

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