In August, store officials said there were no plans to close. Then Home Depot arrived.
By Times Staff Writer
Published February 6, 2004
ZEPHYRHILLS - It didn't take long for the new Home Depot in town to run off a competitor.
The Home Depot at State Road 54 and Eiland Boulevard opened Wednesday. And the Scotty's Hardware down the street at the intersection of SR 54 and Allen Road has a note posted on the door that it is closing.
"As of Saturday 2/7/04, this store no longer will be open for business," the note reads.
Outside, there were only a few cars in the parking lot by the store. And inside, there were few customers and only one checkout lane open.
That was in sharp contrast to the mob scene at Home Depot's opening Wednesday night, when the parking lot was overflowing and shoppers jammed the aisles and lined up at a row of busy registers.
The Scotty's store manager was unavailable Thursday afternoon, and Lora Kellogg, Scotty's vice president of marketing, did not return telephone calls.
In August, when Home Depot bought its Zephyrhills property, Kellogg said the Zephyrhills Scotty's store was doing well and there were no plans to close it.
The store also was sued in August by its landlord, Wal-Mart. The retail giant, which holds a lease on the building and was subleasing to Scotty's, claimed Scotty's officials had not paid a $29,198 tax bill on the 54,000-square-foot building as required in the lease.
That lawsuit is pending in Circuit Court, records show.
