Updated: New retailer is moving into former Goodwill store in Kennewick

Kennewick retail is on a roll.

Harbor Freight Tools will open its second Tri-City location this winter in the former Goodwill thrift store at Kennewick Plaza, near Highway 395 and West Kennewick Avenue.

It’s the latest in a string of retail developments that brought Dick’s Sporting Goods to Columbia Center mall and At Home decor to the former Shopko store on Columbia Center Boulevard.

Evelyn Lusignan, spokeswoman for the city of Kennewick, confirmed the city issued building permits representing about $220,000 of renovation work on the new Harbor Freight outlet.

Harbor Freight submitted plans in August to renovate the space at 2905 W. Kennewick Ave. near the Safeway store. The city approved them in September.

Harbor Freight Tools, based in Calabasas, Calif., is a family-owned discount tool and equipment retailer with more than 1,000 stores in 48 states. The company buys directly from factories.

It’s marketing slogan is, “We cut out the middleman and pass the savings to you!”

Stores carry more than 7,000 items, including hand tools, generators, air and power tools, shop equipment and automotive tools.

It employs about 20,000 and has $5 billion in annual revenue, according to a September ZoomInfo profile.

It has one other store in the Tri-Cities, in Richland.

It is hiring full- and part-time positions for the Kennewick store through harborfreightjobs.com. The Kennewick location is the company’s 25th in Washington.

Stonecrafters Inc. is the contractor.

This story has been updated to include hiring and opening plans.

This story was originally published October 3, 2019 at 4:59 PM.