FAIRMONT — People are eager for the new Tractor Supply Co. store to open its doors in Fairmont.

When the store’s setup team began placing lawnmowers in front of the building at 10th and State streets, the activity alerted numerous passing motorists who stopped in hoping to shop. The mowers were temporarily relocated to a less visible area.

As store manager Todd Christofferson related this story, yet another individual approached the store entrance, under the assumption that the employees’ vehicles in the parking lot indicated the business was open.

Tractor Supply Co. of Fairmont will hold its grand opening sale June 21-24, with June 23 set aside for special promotions.

Store hours will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Christofferson comes from Mankato, where he has lived for the last 18 years, but he and his wife, Sara, are familiar with Fairmont. His wife’s parents own Center Creek Orchard in rural Fairmont.

Located in the former Kmart building at 1215 N. State St., Tractor Supply occupies about 25,000 square feet, a little less than one-third of the building’s total space.

The strong agricultural roots of the Fairmont area prompted the company to open a store here.

“They look very closely at the community, and this is a community that has a lot of farmers and people that live the lifestyle of everything that we carry,” Christofferson said. “We’ve got stuff for gardening, about everything for the farm, for the hobby farmer, pet owners.”

Overhead signs in the retail area designate the store’s main sections, with animal food being one of the largest.

“That’s a big department,” Christofferson said. “We’ve got feed for about any animal you could find on a farm — pigs, horses, cows, goats, chickens, rabbits. We’ve got dog food, cat food, bird food.”

If your pet is of a more exotic variety, there’s also ferret food and even chinchilla chow.

And if your pet needs a bath, Tractor Supply has a space available for that too.

“We’ve got a two-station pet wash here,” Christofferson said. “For $9.99, you can bring your animal in here, wash it, dry it. You can use our shampoo. Use the conditioner. Use the towels. Then we come in and clean up afterwards.”

The store’s inventory will include work clothing and shoes; welding supplies; power and hand tools; truck boxes; oil; kayaks; and safes, both for personal papers and firearms; as well as numerous other items. The outside sales area holds wood and metal posts, fencing, gates, feeders, tanks, softener salt and a propane station.

“You can actually pull your camper right in, fill it up and drive right off,” Christofferson said.

The store’s setup team has been laboring to prepare for opening day. About 15 semis have unloaded merchandise over the past 10 days.

“Our goal when we open is to be 98 percent stocked,” Christofferson said.

If you need an item not in stock, don’t worry. They will get it for you.

“Anybody can hop on our website (www.tractorsupply.com), buy something and come into the store and pick it up,” he said. “First, the website will let you know if we have it in stock. If we don’t have it and you order it, we’ll send you an email to let you know when you can come pick it up.”

If you’re already at the store, a kiosk located near the back will be set up to handle your ordering.

“We will price match — absolutely,” Christofferson said, indicating the company policy of matching a competitor’s lower price.

“Another thing that we’re going to do — and most Tractor Supplies do too — is work with schools, with student groups and other organizations,” he said, mentioning a car wash, farmers market or pet adoption day. “We’ll try to hold events here. Bring in FFA, 4-H, the Humane Society. We love that. They can do whatever they want. If they want to come in once a month and do something, we can do that. If they give us enough notice, we can print out flyers and let our customers know.”

Tractor Supply will employ five full-time people and 7 to 10 part-timers. Several people have been hired, but applications still are being accepted.

“I always tell people, our customers become some of our best employees,” Christofferson said.