The long-empty space last occupied by Albertson’s grocery store in Evergreen has finally been filled.
Pueblo-based farm, ranch and home retail chain plans to open in June in the Tanoa Center at 30901 Stagecoach Blvd., Colorado Big R vice president Adam Carroll confirmed.
The space has been empty since .
The store will be the 18th location for the company, which began in 1962 with stores in Lamar and La Junta and has since expanded throughout Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. Other retail companies throughout the United States also use the Big R name and brand but are not affiliated with Colorado Big R Stores.
The 41,000-square-foot Evergreen Big R will employ 25-30 employees and will begin advertising for those jobs sometime in the next few weeks, Carroll said. Visit for more information.
“A lot of the products we sell and type of clientele we focus on is exactly what Evergreen has,” Carroll said.
Big R products focus on outdoor-related goods, including ranch and agricultural, lawn and garden, home improvement, automotive, lumber and steel.
Carroll said Big R’s Conifer location, which opened in an old Safeway store at 25557 Conifer Road in 2011, gave the company a good idea of the area’s demographic. However, the Evergreen location will have a heavier focus on outdoor supplies for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and pet supplies.
Three other retail spots in the Tanoa shopping center are currently unoccupied. Carroll said he isn’t aware of any other new tenants but heard negotiations are in progress.
In the years since Albertson’s closed, the shopping center’s abandoned parking lot has increasingly been used for overflow parking for events, such as those at Evergreen Lake.
Brad Bednar, Evergreen Parks and Recreation’s Lake House supervisor, said he doesn’t believe the possible loss of the parking space will affect summer events.
“Even though it’s a great shuttle stop for events, we’re excited to see the building being put to use rather than an empty business front,” he said in an e-mail. “EPRD has actually moved several events from the lake to the Buchanan fields so we don’t think it will affect the remaining events held at the Lake House.”
However, Bednar said that he does plan to talk with Big R about the potential of using its parking lot after its business hours.
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com
