You may recently have noticed that there are a few new faces at Canadian Tire in Essex. That's because the store is preparing for its long-awaited expansion and wants you to recognize those faces when the new store opens later this fall on County Road 8.

With 25,000 square feet of retail space at the new location, compared to the current 7,000 square feet in the Southland Plaza, Canadian Tire customers will notice a huge difference.

“There will be none of its kind,” said Store Manager Marc Dupuis. “We tailored to the market and expanded product departments that the customers have requested.”

The new property will include six service bays, an outside garden centre on the east side of the building taking up another 22,000 square feet of space, a business supply centre, and a selection of ready-to-assemble furniture.

Cramped shopping aisles and limited parking will soon be a thing of the past. The location allows for over 200 parking spots and, by almost quadrupling the retail space, the store will offer spacious shopping aisles and expanded departments. “When the store first opens, we're going to have a huge Christmas department,” said owner Jim Crighton.

As the first commercial property to build in the Mady Development, the store hopes to open its doors sometime in October. Until that time, Accu-Staff of Kingsville is working on assembling a crew of about 120 people to merchandise The store, which will ultimately triple its retail staff and double staffing in its service department.

“The reason Essex is getting a new Canadian Tire store is because of the support the community gave us last year,” Crighton explained. Of the 450 stores across Canada, the Essex store had the highest increase in sales in Canada last year.

Crighton and Dupuis have been planning the move for eight months and are rightfully excited about the expansion. “My biggest excitement is for the customers,” said Dupuis. “They get a new store, they don't have to drive to the city, and the community has been waiting for it for so long.”

The walls are up, the floor is installed and the lighting fixtures are set in place. Once the hydro is hooked up and signal lights are installed at the Highway 3 Bypass, Crighton says the new Canadian Tire will be ready to open.