Whitefish Shopko Hometown to open next month

Shopko Hometown is about a month away from opening in Whitefish’s Mountain Mall.

“We’re excited,” mall manager Tom Kraus said. “We think the remodel for the shopping center is gorgeous and the Shopko is going to be a great thing for the Whitefish community.”

Kraus said it’s been about 20 years since Whitefish has had a department store to serve the community. Whitefish residents typically have to drive to Kalispell for everyday retail items.

The 37,000-square-foot Shopko Hometown should be open by late September, Kraus said. Construction started in February, with Martel Construction of Bigfork as the general contractor.

Shopko Hometown will create about 30 new jobs. The store is a small-town format of the Shopko chain, aimed at communities ranging from 3,000 to 8,000 in population. The Hometown format is the only division of Shopko that is currently expanding into Montana with 12 new stores.

“We sought out Shopko Hometown; that format has been very popular and we went after them to recruit them to Whitefish,” Kraus said.

Kraus said it’s been nearly two years since the project was solidified.

In March, the Whitefish Pilot reported the project will cost $3.7 million.

In addition to the incoming Shopko Hometown, Mountain Mall is in the middle of construction on the Dollar Tree retail store that will be located on the other side of Sportsman & Ski Haus.

The Dollar Tree will be smaller than Shopko, using about 10,000 square feet of mall space.

Construction on the Dollar Tree began in mid-June and Kraus expects it to be completed by early next year.

For now, Kraus is focusing on opening the Shopko Hometown. He said he’s heard requests for a local department store from Eureka, Columbia Falls and Whitefish residents for years.

“It’s a great addition for the community and an uptick for the Mountain Mall,” Kraus said.