Les Schwab Tire Center

Moorhead, Minnesota sits directly across the Red River from Fargo, North Dakota, and together the two cities function as a single trade area.
 

When Les Schwab and I were working on our expansion strategy for Fargo, we knew we needed coverage on the east side of the market as well. That meant finding the right location in Moorhead.

My initial focus was along the highway near the Target store, where I had identified a site and began putting a deal together. From a traffic standpoint, it made sense, and I felt good about the location.

But when Les Schwab’s real estate team toured the market, they had a different perspective.

They preferred a site directly in front of the Menards store, which sat in the heart of Moorhead’s primary retail corridor. The visibility was excellent, and the surrounding retail created strong daily traffic.

After the tour, they asked me to pursue the pad site in front of Menards instead.

So I picked up the phone and called Menards’ real estate manager. After a few conversations, we were able to quickly align on terms and structure a deal for the outlot.

The site ultimately gave Les Schwab something even better than what we had originally planned. The larger parcel allowed them to build one of their full-service tire centers, providing the space they needed for their complete range of services and customer parking.

 

Today, the store sits prominently in front of Menards in one of Moorhead’s strongest retail locations, giving Les Schwab excellent visibility and a strategic presence on the east side of the Fargo trade area.