Word of mouth travels fast.
Target is nearing the end of its unadvertised soft opening but already is bustling.
The Harmar store at Freeport Road and Route 910 opened its doors at 5 p.m. Tuesday to select guests with a ceremonial ribbon cutting and plans to celebrate its grand opening on Sunday.
This is the first Target to open in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Local Target fans were forced to travel to Monroeville or the North Hills to shop at the closest stores.
"I think this will be nice," Plum resident Jeannine Durick said. "Now we don't have to go all the way to (Pittsburgh) Mills to shop."
Durick shopped Friday at the Harmar Target along with friend Jean Cousins of Cheswick.
"This is great," Cousins said. "We needed something like this around here."
Durick and Cousins weren't the only ones who decided to pay a visit to the newest giant retailer in the area. A sizeable crowd filled the store. It didn't rival a Black Friday turnout, but appeared substantial.
"We're actually pretty busy (for a soft opening)," store manager Jen Clarke said. "We've had a lot of people just coming to look."
Clarke believes the store's location -- near Route 28 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike -- will be good for business.
Margaux Krounapple made the trip from the Highland Park section of Pittsburgh. "I'm happy there's a Target around here," she said.
Clarke, meantime, said the soft opening "gives our team a chance to get used to business before the grand opening."
The store employs about 160 people with plans to add 10 to 20 more. Clarke said wages start at $7.50 per hour.
As part of both the soft and grand openings, Target is offering sales in every department. Clarke said the sales will last into April.
Also, Target awarded a $500 grant to the Harmar Police Department and a $250 grant to the Springdale Junior-Senior High Band.
The store will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.
"We're very happy about that store," Harmar Supervisor Barbara Noll said. "It's a wonderful addition to our area."
Noll said there's a possibility Target could draw other businesses to the area. "We have some room to expand," she said.
Target sits in the spot that once was home to an Ames department store and a Hills department store in the same plaza with Giant Eagle Express. A relocated National City Bank is under construction there as well.
