These new national businesses opened, others coming soon in Turlock — and one closes
We’re halfway through the year and Turlock retailers already have had a bustling 2022.
Two companies have opened in new locations in the city, three construction projects are underway nearby and, unfortunately, one long-term business is calling it quits.
First, a Modesto-born brand has found a new home in Turlock. 5.11 Tactical, the military and law enforcement-focused apparel company founded by Modesto entrepreneur Dan Costa, opened a new store in Monte Vista Crossings earlier this year. The store, which fills the former Dress Barn space, has been operating in the popular shopping center since March.
The new site sells men’s and women’s outdoor and tactical clothing. The location is the company’s only corporate retail store in Stanislaus County, despite the brand’s origins in Modesto. Costa famously started 5.11 in 1999 with a single pair of pants, and sold the $300 million company in 2007.
While Modesto has stores, like Crescent Supply and Work World, that carry a selection of 5.11 products, there isn’t an official corporate store in the city. 5.11 has a factory store in Manteca. The Monte Vista Crossings 5.11 store at 3005 Countryside Drive is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 209-580-0640.
New discount retailer in Turlock’s old JC Penney
Less than a mile away, the former JC Penney space in the Countryside Plaza Shopping Center has a new tenant as well. Discount retailer Big Lots moved into the 33,796-square-foot store on Countryside Drive in mid-May. The company previously had a store for several years on Geer Road before moving to the upgraded space.
JC Penney had announced the closure of its Turlock location, as well as stores in Los Banos and Tracy, in mid-2020 as part of its ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The only currently operating location for the once venerable department chain in Stanislaus County is its anchor spot at Modesto’s Vintage Faire Mall.
The new Turlock Big Lots at 1840 Countryside Drive is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. For more information, call 209-850-3112.
Near the new Big Lots, three new construction projects are underway just off the Highway 99 Fulkerth exit. In the same parking lot as the new Big Lots in Countryside Plaza, work has begun on a new electronic-vehicle charging station. The new Tesla Supercharger is going in next to the Baskin-Robbins store in the shopping center. According the to Tesla website, the supercharger is slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2022.
National steakhouse restaurant under construction
Across Countryside Drive in the same shopping plaza, the new Texas Roadhouse restaurant is well underway. Construction began earlier this year on the site of the former HomeTown Buffet, which has since been demolished.
Original planning documents for the new restaurant had estimated completion by June. But framing is still going up on site, and it now appears to headed for an opening later this year. Once completed, the 8,300-square-foot location will have a capacity for some 420 guests. The steakhouse chain is known for its Texas-sized steaks and free buckets of peanuts.
This will be the company’s second location in Stanislaus County; its first, on Sisk Road in Modesto, opened in 2013 and has been a popular draw ever since.
Across the street, just off the Fulkerth exit, a new gas station and mini mart combo is also under construction. The site will be a new Valero fuel station and Circle K Mini Mart.
The project’s original planning documents, approved in late 2020, showed the 2500 Fulkerth Road site will have a six-pump island and a 5,000-square-foot convenience mart with an attached quick-serve restaurant. Revised plans updated with the city will create a standalone 2,200-square-foot drive-thru restaurant with parking on the same parcel.
Building permits have not been pulled yet for the restaurant, but framing on the gas station has started.
Longtime music shop serving Turlock students closes
And finally, with all the new openings also comes one sad closure.
Ingram’s Music announced that its Paulson Road music shop was closing for good at the end of June.
The store opened in Turlock in 1992. In the past 30 years, the business has helped countless area students through music lessons, instrument rentals and more. First started on West Main Street by husband-and-wife team Jim and Liz Ingram, the shop has been a mainstay for Turlock music students for three decades.
Their daughter and her husband, Charlene and Dave Perry, have run the Turlock shop since 2007. But now, after 15 years operating the shop, they were forced to close due to Dave Perry’s health issues. He contracted valley fever recently, and so the couple are moving to Florida.
They’re selling off their inventory and equipment, including their band and orchestra instruments, with much of it going back to the school programs they’ve served for decades in the region. But the couple said they’re sad to say goodbye to all the young musicians and generations of families they’ve gotten to know over the years.
“I’ll miss the families and watching these kids — especially the pride that they have in themselves when they (learn) to play,” Charlene Perry said. “I truly believe that music is something good for the soul as well as the brain. We’ve had incredible families come through.”
The Perrys said they are still selling off some of their hundreds and hundreds of instruments and other merchandise, and people interested can call the store. Their sister shop in Merced, which is run by Charlene’s brother, remains open.
For sale inquiries, call 209-669-9226.
