Tractor Supply Co. Opening at Yardbird-Home Depot Location

That long empty Yardbirds store on Lakeville Highway is about to open as a Tractor Supply Co., with a “soft open” scheduled for this weekend.

The new store at 2000 Lakeville Highway will throw open the doors on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 8 a.m., according to store manager Steve Geisler. Regular hours will be Monday through Saturday, 8-8, and Sundays 9 – 6.

For years the location of Petaluma’s Yardbirds, the 34,633 sq.-ft. facility was purchased by Home Depot in 2005. But the Home Depot / Yardbirds closed in January 2009, three years ago, and the location has been empty since.

Tractor Supply, the nation’s largest retail farm and ranch supply store chain, is based in Brentwood, Tenn. They have been operating in California since 2004, with a Tractor Supply Co. in Windsor that opened in 2009.

Their company stores “are focused on supplying the lifestyle needs of recreational farmers and ranchers,” according to the announcement. The stores also serve  "the maintenance needs of those who enjoy the rural lifestyle, as well as tradesmen and small businesses.”

Geisler was more direct. “Our core is the do-it-yourself rancher, the 3- 5 acre type customer. A lot of our merchandise is based around that core idea.

“You can feed almost anything you can think of out of this store,” he added. “Horses, pigs, things like that.”

Geisler, most recently of the Tractor Supply in Woodland, responded to questions about what brought Tractor Supply to Petaluama.  

“I would first say the community reached out to the company, by shopping in Woodland, Dixon, and other stores,” he said. “There’s already a broad group of folks from this area that visit us in other locations. When we used to be able to track by zip code, we found a very large customer base here.” California outlawed the practice of collecting customer’s zip codes one year ago.

The store currently employs 15 full- and part-time team members, which Geisler characterized as a “minimum staff.”

“We start with a fairly conservative financial goal, and we tend to exceed that. I hired the base staff and look forward to adding as we go.”

It was Geisler who used the term “soft open” for Saturday’s launch. But the first week of business will include some introductory offers and bargainsl.

“Grand opening is February 4^th,” he said. “We’ll have a direct-mail marketing piece running Wednesday through Sunday -  everyone that shops with us during next weekend gets 10% off entire purchase.

“It’s a great time to come in, get to know us and save money!”

Tractor Supply Company operates over 1,000 stores in 44 states, usually located in the outlying towns in major metropolitan markets and in rural communities.

The company offers a comprehensive selection of merchandise for the health, care, growth and containment of horses, livestock and pets including select Purina and Nutrena brand feeds; a broad selection of agricultural products; and tools and hardware selected for customers’ needs.

In addition, the company sells light truck equipment, work clothing for the entire family, and an extensive line of seasonal products including lawn and garden power-equipment products.