Businesses expand, seek local support

Two businesses are depending on the support of the Portales community in their moves to expand from their current locations.

Robert’s Television and Appliance is having it’s grand opening on Friday and Saturday in it’s new 20,000 square foot building at 509 South Avenue C, where the old Poynors Home and Auto Inc. used to be located. Robert’s Television and Appliance was previously located in the Sands Shopping Center in a 3,000-square-foot building.

“I based my decision to expand on the support we have received from the community,” Robert’s Television and Appliance owner Robert Encinas said in an economic forum in early October. “I felt with the support of Portales we can open a new store.”

Trader Horn True Value hardware store will be moving from a 30,000-square-foot building on 701 South Avenue C to a 50,000 square foot building a block south, where the old Furr’s and Shop and Save groceries used to be, next to the Auto Zone auto parts store.

“We plan to open the new store some time after Christmas,” True Value co-owner Max Merrick said. “We’ve been looking to move into the new building and negotiating for the last two years. We purchased the new building in November of last year.”

The new True Value store will be equipped with a new seasonal greenhouse. The store will employ the same amount of people, 18, which are full-time and part-time. Workers are setting up the new shelves will have professional merchandisers stock the store in November, Merrick said.

“We’re going to have 40 percent more space and increase our merchandise by 40 percent,” Merrick said. “We’ve been limited in our parking area. This will allow us to have more parking space. It should be cleaner, with better air conditioning and lighting.”

Merrick had Gordon Purves, a retail architect from Toronto design the floor layout of the new building.

“He’s been all-around the world to places like Japan and helped with retail store layouts,” Merrick said.

Merrick has been the co-owner of the True Value store for 18 years. The store has been in operation for 44 years.

“The public has been wishing us well and their real excited about the new store,” Merrick said.

Robert’s Television Appliance, which has eight employees, will have a raffle for a 61-inch RCA television to commemorate the event on Saturday. The ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday.