By the end of this week it will have been the moment that hundreds of local residents have been waiting for, the opening of the town's very own Bunnings Warehouse.
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Earlier this week The Young Witness was lucky enough to have a sneak peek at the store ahead of it's highly anticipated opening and got to meet some of the staff, familiar and new.
From the moment you walk through the front doors you realise that you're not visiting a newer version of Cowra's Bunnings, not at all, with the Young store bigger with a larger variety of products than it's neighbouring counterpart.
Spanning more than 5,500 square metres, the new store offers local customers a wide range of home and lifestyle products featuring the main warehouse, an outdoor nursery and landscaping, a fully enclosed timber drive through with 10 indoor car spaces, a newly designed trade desk, and car parking for over 85 cars.
Young Bunnings store manager Matthew Ross can tell you that himself having managed the Cowra store before working in Wagga for the past four years.
With over 50 staff hired locally there are a lot of familiar faces throughout the store.
"The team's been working really hard to get the store ready and we're really looking forward to welcoming customers through the doors, as well as helping community groups in the local area," Matthew said.
As part of the store opening, the team has already provided support to local community groups with gift card donations.
"So far, we've provided a $1,000 gift card donation to the local Men's Shed and we've also provided the Young Local Aboriginal Land Council with a $1,000 donation towards their school education and sustainably projects," Matthew said.
"We're also running a competition among local schools in the area, asking them to create and paint a banner of the Young Cherry Festival.
"Because the festival was cancelled this year, we thought we'd try and keep the festival spirit going and create a bit of fun in the town. We've got 10 banners on display at the store and the local community will pick two schools as winners, who will also receive a gift card donation to go towards school sustainability projects.
"Once we're able to get back out into the community, we look forward to assisting more groups in the area with hands-on projects."
Though there is no specific date to open as yet, the store is set to open its doors to the public by Sunday at the very latest.
Rebecca Hewson
A local with a love of local news reporting for the people across the Hilltops and Weddin areas.
A local with a love of local news reporting for the people across the Hilltops and Weddin areas.
