Chad Mielke, who along with his father Richard, are the owners of the Rona Home Centre in Penticton, are thrilled to announce the new Contractors First by Rona outlet in Osoyoos has opened its doors. A ‘soft opening’ was held Tuesday morning, with the grand opening set for Sept. 14. The new store is located in the former Hoffman Automotive building on Main Street (Hwy. 3) adjacent to the Westminister Equipment Rentals outlet and directly across from Rattlesnake Canyon amusement park. (Richard McGuire photo)
Contractors and local residents looking to conduct a home renovation project will be happy to know that the Contractors First by Rona outlet in Osoyoos officially opened its doors Tuesday morning.
“Within 60 days of taking over ownership, we’ve turned an old automotive repair shop into a brand new contractors outlet … everything has gone really smoothly,” said Chad Mielke, who, along with his father Richard have owned the large Rona Home Centre in Penticton for the past 12 years.
Mielke said Tuesday will represent “a soft opening” with the official grand opening set for Wednesday, Sept. 14.
During the grand opening, Mielke and his family will be inviting local community leaders as well as bring in senior management from Rona’s head office in Boucherville, Que.
“We will have a good list of dignitaries on board for the big grand opening and we’ll also be holding a community barbecue …it’s going to be a big event,” he said.
The new Contractors First by Rona outlet is located in the former Hoffman Automotive building on Main Street (Hwy. 3) right beside Westminister Equipment Sales and Rentals, directly across from the Rattlesnake Canyon amusement park.
Mielke said the yard that will be selling lumber and other products is fully stocked already and more and more stock is arriving every single day.
“We’re pretty close to where we need to be to open and we’re ready to roll,” he said. “The excitement has really been building the last two weeks. We’ve had a lot of people walking in and telling us how excited they are to have a contractors outlet like this in town, so we’re really pumped and really excited.”
The new store will be open from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday. The store will be closed on Sundays, but that could change depending on demand within a couple of months, said Mielke.
It has taken a lot of time and effort to get the store ready for opening, but the new staff that has been hired is very excited about greeting new customers, he said.
‘It has been a very very busy past 60 days since we bought the building, but it has been fun and rewarding because so many people in town are so excited about us opening our store,” he said. “There has been a lot of dire news in Osoyoos the past few months with the threat of the (high) school closing, but we believe in this town and we’re very excited to be part of Osoyoos once again.”
Mielke grew up in Osoyoos when his father owned the older Beaver Lumber store, which was later Castle Home Building.
He and his family moved to Summerland when he was a young teenager, but he’s thrilled to have returned to Osoyoos and will be making regular visits now that the new store is open, he said.
Tim Collingwood, a man with 26 years of experience in the home building supplies industry, has been named new store manager.
“Tim has managed Rona stores, TimberMarts and other building supply shops for more than 25 years and we’re thrilled to have him on board,” he said. “He lives in Osoyoos and I know he’s absolutely thrilled to be taking over as store manager.”
The store will offer “everything that a home building contractor would need,” said Mielke.
“We’re just thrilled with our new team in Osoyoos.”
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
