FAIRMONT — Bomgaars will be opening a new store in Fairmont, having purchased the former Shopko building at 1001 S. Highway 15.

“We are coming to town,” Aaron Bomgaars, vice president of property management and store development for the family-owned business, said Tuesday. “We’re looking forward to joining with other local businesses in town and supporting the community.”

He was unable as yet to offer specific information about the store’s opening date or the number of employees that would be hired, but the Fairmont Holiday Inn has confirmed that the company will hold a job fair there on Sept. 4-5.

The company currently operates 86 stores in Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, employing approximately 2,400 people. Minnesota has six stores including one in Blue Earth. The corporate office and distribution center are located in Sioux City, where the company began in 1952.

According to the company’s website, stores stock more than 60,000 items in 13 major departments, including lawn and garden plus nursery, clothing and footwear, farm, pet, automotive supplies, paint, hardware, tools, housewares and toys. Every spring and fall, half of the store is restructured with a seasonal emphasis.

In March, Shopko announced it was closing all its stores within three months when it failed to secure financing. The company’s bankruptcy eliminated 45 full-time and part-time positions in Fairmont.

“It provided a great opportunity for us. We ended up finding nine Shopkos in our territory that were good opportunities for us,” Bomgaars said. “That’s how we’ve always grown over the years. We grow by opportunity.”

He said the Fairmont store will be open seven days a week, closing only on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

According to Martin County real estate records, Bomgaars purchased the 67,000 square foot building for $1.9 million on July 31.