ONTARIO — Family Farm and Home opens to the public Friday at 8 a.m. at the former Toys R Us in Ontario.
The store celebrated the occasion Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, which included the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce and several Richland County and Ontario officials.
“We’re very excited to be here,” said store manager Schanda Vehrs.
The Michigan-based company began moving into the 25,000 square-foot building at 2196 W. 4th St. about four weeks ago, Vehrs said. By Thursday, everything from lawnmowers and grills to hand tools and pet food was in its place.
“Essentially everything for the farm lifestyle,” Vehrs said.
There’s boots for both men and women, food for animals of all sizes and even live chicks for sale at the store.
Family Farm and Home is based in Michigan and has more than 60 locations, most in Michigan and Ohio.
Vehrs worked at the Bucyrus location for four years before coming to Mansfield.
“We’ve been looking at the Mansfield area for quite some time,” she said.
But hearing that Rural King was considering the area caused some hesitation. Since then, Richland Source has confirmed Rural King does not intend to open a store at the property it owns on Park Avenue in Mansfield.
Family Farm and Home will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
The Ontario location will celebrate its grand opening publicly on April 19 and 20. An Easter egg hunt is scheduled for noon on April 20.
Family Farm and Home is located directly beside Altitude Trampoline Park in the Mallview Plaza, where Toys R Us operated until last March.
