Bender Lumber purchased a building in Ellettsville earlier this year to be the new home of its original store after years of searching. It will celebrate with a grand opening June 4.
The event will feature an antique car show and free nail gun cleaning, and Bender Lumber suppliers will be on hand to talk about their products. Additionally, a Boy Scouts of America troop will be serving hot dogs and sodas provided by the company for donations to the troop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Store manager Ed Craig said the company had difficulty getting product in and out of the old location’s lot quickly enough. Further, there was not much traffic.
“We were on a two-lane road that was hard to find,” he said. “It didn’t have a lot of traffic. This has a bunch of traffic going by.”
Since opening the Ellettsville location on April 25, Bender Lumber has expanded the store’s hours and delivery services. It is now open seven days a week, instead of six, and delivers seven days a week, instead of five. The store is open later, as well.
With all that expansion, the store’s staff doubled in size and now includes full-time door and window, siding and roofing, and kitchen specialists.
The new location is about five times as big as the store in Bloomington was, which Craig said will help fuel its business with contractors.
“The advantage of the room of the lumber yard here versus there will help us grow the contractor business even more,” he said. “The advantage of the location will help us grow consumer business.”
Bender Lumber tried to move into the space throughout 2015 but was unable to get in until Feb. 2. It started moving in the same day.
“We had a lot of demolition to do instead and repair and all that kind of stuff,” Craig said.
But it did not move inventory from the old store until the weekend before opening.
“It was just the lumber and the boards and the shingles and the drywall and the concrete – all that stuff we had to haul over during the weekend,” Craig said.
“This is a pretty daggone nice store on the inside,” he added. “We have history pictures on the walls of Bender Lumber and the owners. This is the newest and nicest store we have.”
The store’s grand opening is June 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its new location, 711 E. Temperance St. in Ellettsville.
Bender Lumber is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Its phone number is 812-339-9137.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2016. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.