The wait is over.

Menards, the fast-growing Wisconsin-based home improvement retailer that started the process of building a Bowling Green store five years ago, is now ready to open that store.

Jeff Abbott, Menards promotion manager, confirmed last week that the store located on a 39.71-acre site along Campbell Lane near Eastland Street will open Tuesday, with grand opening festivities planned for May 12-18.

The 175,000-square-foot store has been highly anticipated since that original rezoning approval in 2019 and throughout the construction process that started last year.

“Everywhere we go people are excited for us to get open,” said Steve Hendricks, general manager of the Bowling Green store. “It’s a great location with high traffic volume.”

Hendricks, a Menards veteran who is working at his eighth store location, said he has hired nearly 190 people to staff the store that will be open from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Sunday.

In addition to the usual lumber, appliances, siding, construction materials, and tools, Menards will carry mowers, automotive items, groceries and gardening supplies. It also includes a rental center carrying tools and equipment like pressure washers.

“I like to think we are a one-stop shop,” Hendricks said. “You can get your home improvement items and a gallon of milk.”

It will be the seventh Kentucky location for family-owned Menards, which has 341 stores across 15 states.

Menards entered Kentucky a decade ago with a location in Owensboro and has built stores in Elizabethtown, Richmond, Louisville and Paducah since the initial approval for the Bowling Green store in 2019.

While large by itself, the Bowling Green Menards may be just the beginning of a larger commercial center in an area bounded by Highland Way, McIntosh Street and Merrick Place.

The Menards development plan from 2019 called for retail strip centers and restaurants to be built on the acreage surrounding the anchor store.

Scotty’s Contracting Vice President Chris Higgins, who oversaw construction of the store, said the project has a city street running through it, facilitating “opportunities for future growth” around the Menards store.

Menards, ranked 28th last year on Forbes’ list of “America’s Largest Private Companies” with an estimated revenue of $13 billion, has special events planned for the week-long grand opening celebration.

Chainsaw carver John Gage will be demonstrating his artistry at the store May 12-15 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.

Menards race cars will be on display from Thursday, May 16 through Saturday, May 18.