Most of the stores are about 20,000 square feet in space, but some of the newer ones — such as the location in Fredericksburg’s Central Park shopping center, which had been a former Toys R Us store — are more than 30,000 square feet.
East Coast Appliance acquired that Fredericksburg store and a former 45,000 square-foot Toys R Us property on North Military Highway in Norfolk in late 2018. The chain added additional space to that Norfolk location to serve as a superstore as well as its corporate headquarters and distribution center.
But Nicholson said he will make the former Salvation Army store in Chesterfield work.
“There is nothing for sale on Midlothian Turnpike. And I don’t lease,” he said. “This came available. I felt like it was big enough for it to work.”
Besides, he said, the location along the busy Midlothian Turnpike was key. And it is close to home improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe’s, both of which he said are his main competitors.
An entity tied to East Coast Appliance bought the building at 11000 Midlothian Turnpike from The Salvation Army for $2.4 million, according to commercial real estate brokerage Taylor Long Properties. Brian Glass, a senior vice president at Taylor Long Properties, represented the seller.
Salvation Army closed this location and two other Richmond-area family thrift stores in May.