A Garden Ridge home decor superstore will open Thursday in the former Wickes furniture store in North Fayette, and the Houston-based chain said it could add another Pittsburgh-area location later.
The region "doesn't have anything like it," Garden Ridge CEO Tom Kibarian said in a statement that describes the store as a Super Wal-Mart-sized store covering almost three acres with more than a half million value-priced decorating and home entertaining items.
The announcement follows news this week that another long-vacant former Wickes in Monroeville will be turned into an exhibition hall.
Garden Ridge, founded in 1979, is in expansion mode after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy three years ago. There are 43 stores mainly in the Midwest and Southeast -- and including locations in Omaha, Birmingham and Atlanta that will open this week and next, along with the North Fayette location.
Nicole Clackson, an associate with CB Richard Ellis, said the real estate firm is working to identify other possible local sites for Garden Ridge.
Clackson represented Icahn Enterprises Holdings LP, which owns the former Wickes, in arranging Garden Ridge's lease for the 153,000-square-foot building off the Parkway West, at Montour Run Road.
Garden Ridge spokeswoman Jackie Diaz said the company would look at how the store fares before deciding to open elsewhere in the Pittsburgh area. The company has expanded to more than one location in some markets, including Detroit, she said.
The chain promotes its stores as one-stop shops for some furniture items such as sofas, chairs and headboards -- plus artwork and mirrors, rugs, bedding, plants and "more ... seasonal decor items under one roof than any other retailer in the world." Holiday merchandise includes 79 different Christmas trees, 38 types of outdoor inflatables and 3,000 ornament styles.
Diaz said Garden Ridge generally is moving north. There are three stores in Ohio, and the Pittsburgh-area store will be the first in in Pennsylvania.
The Wickes furniture showroom and distribution center, close to Montour Run creek, suffered damage when the remnants of Hurricane Ivan caused flooding throughout the Pittsburgh region in September 2004.
It never reopened. Wickes opted to shut down both that site and its Monroeville store late that year.
Oxford Development Co. said Wednesday it will renovate the Monroeville store as an exhibition, meeting and convention center to replace the ExpoMart, which will be converted to office space.
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