Bomgaars coming to Newcastle

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
What is going to take the place of Shopko Hometown in Newcastle is no longer a question. The News Letter Journal received word Monday that Bomgaars Supply Inc. has entered an agreement to purchase the former Shopko building, according to Torrey Wingert, Bomgaars vice president and chief financial officer. 
Bomgaars is a retail chain of farm and ranch supply stores headquartered in Sioux City, Iowa, with 85 stores located in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming. The store was founded in 1952 and is operated by the Bomgaars family, according to the company’s website. 
“Out goal and hope is to have the new store in Newcastle up and going sometime late fall,” Wingert said. “Prior to the holiday season.” 
According to Wingert, over the years parties have expressed an interest in a Bomgaars store in Newcastle and that an understanding of their customer base shows that Newcastle would support a Bomgaars and the products they sell. 
“We will be bringing a lot of different items and products to the area that people need and want, and are probably traveling to get now,” Wingert said. 
Moving to Newcastle has always been a topic of discussion for the store, according to Wingert, but building a new building was a big investment and “ probably doesn’t make a lot of sense.” 
With the closure of Shopko, Bomgaars was able to secure the building and begin planning a storefront. He noted that finding a big vacant building is always the first choice over securing land and building from scratch. 
“With Shopko closing, we looked at the opportunities in the Midwest to expand. We are probably expanding into seven or eight towns in the area,” Wingert said. “Hot Springs is on that list.” 
Wingert reported that Bomgaars is a family-owned business that has grown and expanded over the past couple of years. The store provides products for “a lot of different types of people” ranging from those who operate small business to local farmers and “do-it-yourselfers.” 
“We are looking forward to getting started and opening our store front in Newcastle,” Wingert said.