Work Begins on Tractor Supply store at Fox Family Lane location

December 18, 2019 by G. Chambers Williams III

Work began late last week to prepare the site for the new Tractor Supply store in Clinton next to Fox Toyota, as the grading contractor started moving dirt.

The Brentwood, Tennessee-based “rural lifestyle” retail chain Tractor Supply Co. obtained a building permit from the city of Clinton on Nov. 25 for a $2.4 million project that will include a nearly 20,000-square-foot building, parking lots and outdoor merchandise display areas.

A spokeswoman for Tractor Supply said the company plans to open the Clinton store in early summer 2020.

W.R. Newman and Associates, Inc., of Nashville is contractor for the 19,097-square-foot store, which will be built on the northeast side of the intersection of Interstate 75/Exit 122 and Tennessee 61/Andersonville Highway, just east of the Toyota dealership, according to Tractor Supply spokeswoman Niki Giacchina.

Officially, the location is 320 Fox Family Lane, which is just to the north of the Toyota store.

The store will bring about 15 new jobs, she said. Plans for the building include a sales floor, external support service area and a pet wash, she said. About half of the new jobs are expected to be full-time positions.

L&L Contracting of Clinton is in charge of site preparation, said Darrell Ray, L&L’s superintendent on the project. Grading and digging equipment began work on the site on Thursday.

“We’re doing the prep work, including excavation and site leveling – everything to the point of pouring concrete and asphalt” for the parking lot and foundation, Ray said. “We’re hoping for good weather so we can get this done on time.

“It will be nice to have something like this in Clinton,” said Ray, who is a Clinton resident.

This is one of more than 70 new stores Tractor Supply plans to open across the nation in 2020, Giacchina said. Tractor Supply opened its 1,800th store in early September. It now has Tractor Supply stores in 49 states, supplying basic maintenance products to home, land, pet and animal owners.

There already are Tractor Supply stores as close as LaFollette, Halls and Oak Ridge. The company also operates a chain of 177 “small-box” pet-supply stores in 26 states, called Petsense. The nearest Petsense store to Clinton is in LaFollette. The company has not mentioned any plans for expanding those stores to Clinton.

“With over 1,800 stores, Tractor Supply is always seeking the right opportunity to grow the retailer’s footprint nationwide,” Giacchina said. “The brand is passionate about serving its unique niche and has identified an opportunity to offer exceptional service and one-of-a-kind products to those living the ‘Out Here’ lifestyle in the Clinton community.”

According to its website (tractorsupply.com), Tractor Supply “was founded in 1938 as a mail order catalog business offering tractor parts to America’s family farmers.” It has grown to become “a leading-edge retailer with annual revenues of approximately $7.91 billion.”