Runnings Opens First Regional Store in Moorhead

the building used to be a kmart which closed last december

FARGO, ND —  You don’t need to “run” all over town anymore to get most of your errands done, thanks to the opening of Runnings.

This is the first store the company has opened in the area and originates in Marshall, Minnesota.

Runnings has a little bit for everyone.

“We’re not just a farm type store,” said store manager Stan Sample. “I think we really fit the demand or the need for this side of town.”

Although Runnings originally sold auto parts, they now sell everything from pet items to clothing.

“Auto parts are kind of universal, right? And clothes are universal too. So it has a logic,” said Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams.

Moorhead now has their very own Runnings.

The building used to be a Kmart which closed last December.

Mayor Williams said she’s glad the building filled up so fast.

“Nobody wants empty buildings in their city, right? Moorhead doesn’t have many but we don’t want to add to it,” Williams said.

Sample worked at Kmart for 20 years in South Dakota and at one store location in Iowa before it closed.

Sample said this time he’s glad he could rehire Kmart employees.

“It’s just great to bring those people back that worked at the store one time and give them their jobs back. Pretty excited about that,” Sample said.

One of the biggest changes he noticed after making the switch to Runnings was the atmosphere.

“This is a family based company. I would say that’s the biggest thing,” Sample said. “We’re the 41st store so we’re a smaller company but a lot of family environment atmosphere. That’s completely different than what I’m used to working in the big box retailers.”

You can expect to see that relationship as you interact with the store’s employees.

“Nobody had a specific department. We all built this store together as a team, so it’s quite an accomplishment and an honor,” Sample said. “We think we got something that will do well here.”

The store’s grand opening celebration will be October 18-22.

You’ll have a chance to win prizes, including a 2017 Dodge truck.