Photo courtesy of Harbor Freight A submitted photo shows a typical Harbor Freight storefront. The tool and equipment retailer confirmed Thursday that it plans to open a store in Marshall at the former Shopko property.

MARSHALL — A tool and equipment retailer with stores across the U.S. said it will open a store at the former Shopko location in Marshall.

A spokesperson for Harbor Freight Tools confirmed that the company planned to open a new store at 1200 Susan Drive — the former Shopko property — sometime in late spring.

“We’re excited about this location because it will be our first location in Lyon County — and our twenty-third in Minnesota — and much more convenient for our customers in the Marshall community,” Harbor Freight Director of Corporate Communications Craig Hoffman said via email on Thursday.

Harbor Freight is a family-owned company with more than 1,300 store locations in the U.S., according to the company website. Currently, the closest Harbor Freight location to Marshall is in Willmar.

The former Shopko location in Marshall has been vacant since 2019, when the retail chain went into liquidation. The property’s current owners, Woodcrest Capital, bought it at auction in 2021.

Chase Parten, of the Woodcrest Brokerage team, said Tuesday that the plan for the former Shopko was to divide it into space for more than one tenant. Parten said they are currently working with other possible tenants in addition to Harbor Freight, but more information couldn’t be shared at this point.

Hoffman said specific information on when Harbor Freight would open in Marshall wasn’t available yet.

However, as of Thursday Harbor Freight’s company careers website listed job postings for manager positions in Marshall.

“We’ve been looking to add a location in Lyon County, and specifically in Marshall for a while now, but we always believe in waiting until we find a location that meets our needs and the needs of our customers:  good visibility, easy access, ample parking and the right square footage,” Hoffman said.

He said the planned Marshall location would have 16,000 square feet of space. That would make it smaller than “big box” stores, but the size would have advantages, he said.

“Many of our customers are professional trades workers who want to stop in, find what they need and then head out quickly to their job site or workshop. For other customers, this size makes it easier to browse and find our great deals,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said the Marshall store would have a full selection of tools and accessories including automotive, power tools, shop equipment, hand tools and more.

“We also chose to open in Marshall because we feel there is a wide pool of qualified applicants to join our team,” Hoffman said. “We hire locally, and in addition to the construction workers we’ll be hiring, we’ll be bringing an additional new 25-30 jobs to the Marshall community.”