Written By Olena Riznyk
PARKHILL – Staff, customers and local officials gathered May 8 as Parkhill Home Building Centre celebrated its grand re-opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony, barbecue and community event marking a new chapter for the long-time business.
Among those attending the opening were MP Lianne Rood and North Middlesex Mayor Brian Ropp.
The store, previously known as Mitchell’s Home Building Centre, is now part of a four-store ownership group led by dealer owners Adam MacLeod and Craig Geerlinks.
Store manager Corey Moore said the celebration was meant to thank the community while also showing customers the changes made throughout the store over the past year.
“Ever since the ownership, like Kathy and Mike were the previous ownership, and they supported the community well, so we also wanted to do that exact thing,” Moore said. “We rebranded, all the renovations are done, so we’re just kind of celebrating it a little bit with everybody.”
The Parkhill location has served the area for more than 30 years. Moore said the store has recently gone through major renovations, including a redesigned layout, expanded storage space and new product additions. He said the renovations were also meant to bring the Parkhill location more in line with the company’s other stores in Port Stanley, Komoka and St. Thomas.
Moore said the new ownership group wanted to continue the strong support the store built under previous owners Kathy and Mike.
“When they decided to sell, it wasn’t an easy decision,” Moore said. “So, the fact that the community continues to support us as well has been awesome.”
Speaking during the ribbon cutting ceremony, MacLeod said one of the things that stood out most to him after taking over the store was the connection between staff, customers and the community. “When you walk the doors with staff and customers, you really feel it,” MacLeod said.
MacLeod also thanked staff for helping guide the store through months of changes and renovations. “Change sometimes can be a bit of a challenge,” he said. “Trying to get them to trust the process.”
Geerlinks said community involvement remains an important part of the company’s approach across all four Home Hardware locations. “One thing that we always say is supporting people that support you,” Geerlinks said. “One thing we see here in Parkhill is how close the community is, how important it is for them to support local.”
He said the company wants to continue providing the service and support local customers expect from the long-time business.
