Tractor Supply Grand Opening Held April 3
By REBECCA HAZEN
News Editor
Tractor Supply in Trenton held its grand opening event Saturday, April 3, and has been open since Saturday, March 27.
Trenton Mayor Alex Case, County Executive Ted Rumley, Dade County Commissioners Robert Goff and Lamar Lowery, City Commissioner Terry Powell, and members of the Alliance for Dade were at the ribbon cutting.
“This has been a great day for our county and city as Tractor Supply chose us to be here. We are excited for this facility to be used by our citizens, our neighbors and our visitors,” Case said.
“It is a special day for Dade County. Tractor Supply has been great to work with. I want to pat Alex on the back and the city and county commission. It took a lot of work in the past year to get this together,” Rumley said.
Free hats and coupon books were handed out to shoppers. There was a blue grass band playing outside, as well as tractors on display from the Chickamauga Antique Tractor Club. Hot dogs and chips were also handed out.
“Business has been phenomenal,” store manager Tammie Jowers said. “We were off the charts on Saturday [March 27].”
This is Jowers’ first new store. She recently was manager of the former Tractor Supply in the Rock Spring area.
“I brought a lot of the team with me. I brought five with me and I hired more. We have a team of about 17 people,” Jowers said.
Jowers thinks that a Tractor Supply store is great for the community, saying that the store fits right into the lifestyle.
“Our motto is ‘Life Out Here’ and that is basically what it is here. You have your farmers, your livestock raisers, and of course the décor and the apparel. It’s a perfect fit,” Jowers said.
Tractor Supply is partnering with the local Dade County 4-H. There is a Tractor Supply 4-H fundraiser. With each purchase, the customer will be asked if they want to donate to the fundraiser. The 4-H gets 100 percent of the donation.
The store carries anything to do with cattle, feeders, stock tanks for watering, fencing, and anything that pulls behind a tractor.
“And the list goes on and on. Dogs are the number one sales. Anything from dog kennels down to the treats,” Jowers said. “Deer is a big seller. We have the forage that you can grow and attracts them in. And you’d be surprised how much anything bird sells. People love wildlife.”
One of the features of the store is a pet washing station. To use the washing station, pay at the front cash register. The cost is $9.99. Shampoo, towels and grooming equipment are provided. The customer bathes their own animal.
There are two washing stations, but because of COVID-19, the store asks that only one family is in the washing station at a time.
In addition, there is a utility trailer available for rent.
Tractor Supply will also be extending the line of pharmaceuticals for pets in the future. There is also the possibility of a pet vet to come to the store, which is a mobile unit that comes on a certain day of the week. There, people can get wellness care, such as rabies shots.
COVID-19 safety measures are in place. Masks are asked to be worn inside the store. There is a sanitation station in the front of the store where you can get a disposable mask and sanitize carts.
Tractor Supply employees wear a small device to help with possible COVID-19 spread. If two employees were working on something and were less than six feet apart, it would ping and record. It is a tracing device to determine which employees were with each other if someone gets COVID-19.
“Tractor Supply is very involved with COVID-19 to try and keep everyone safe and healthy,” Jowers said.
The store is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. during daylight saving time. Hours will be shortened to 8 p.m. during standard time. The store is open until 7 p.m. on Sundays. For more information call the store at (706) 657-5090.