Menards: Save BIG Money!
December 10, 2022
Menards is an American home improvement retail company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
In 1958, John Menard Jr. began building post-frame buildings to finance his college education. Post-frame construction is a method of building that uses large posts and roof trusses to create a structurally sound building with wide, open interior spaces. They are most commonly used for agricultural buildings.
Business was good for Menard and by the end of 1959, he had to hire extra crews and buy more equipment to keep up with demand.
In 1962, Menard graduated form the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and purchased land in Eau Claire, where he built an office and a shop.
Menards was founded as Menard Cashway Lumber, but in the mid-1980s the business became known simply as Menards when the Cashway Lumber part was dropped.
The company opened its third and fourth distribution centers in 2007. The two locations were Holiday City, Ohio (669,000 square feet) and Shelby, Iowa (735,000 square feet). In that same year, the larger Menards stores began selling groceries, pet supplies and office supplies.
In 2020, Menards opened three locations in West Virginia: one in Wheeling, another in Morgantown and one in Huntington.
In 2022, a fifth manufacturing and distribution center in Ravenna, Ohio began construction and Menards announced that they will open a store on WV Route 279 in Bridgeport, West Virginia.
While Menards is classified as a home improvement store, shoppers can find pretty much anything they need for their home, including groceries, housewares, décor items, health and beauty products, office supplies and much more!
In the early 1980s, John Menard got involved in Indycar racing with his neighbor, driver Herm Johnson. Eventually, Menard purchased his own cars and focussed his attention on the Indianapolis 500, often using stock block Buick V6 engines. When Buick retired from the sport, Menard bought the engine tooling from Buick and began producing the engines under the Menard V6 name.
John Menard is the eldest of eight siblings, raised in a Catholic family with German, French-Canadian, and Norwegian roots. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire with a degree in business and a minor in psychology.
Gloria Sauvé
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