Negotiations are underway for a chain hardware store to open a new location in Columbia County.
Harbor Freight Tools, a discount tool and equipment retailer headquartered in Calabasas, Calif., is looking for a second home in Martinez.
Harbor Freight already has two area locations, a 16,000 square-foot store on Wrightsboro Road in Augusta, and a store on Whiskey Road in Aiken.
Harbor Freight officials were willing to confirm plans to open the location in Martinez but said it’s in the early phases.
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“We are looking to open a location there and looking forward to being part of the community,” said Craig Hoffman, communications director for Harbor Freight, in an email. “But an actual opening would be about a year away.”
Speculation is underway as to where that location in the county might be, but county officials could not shed any light on it.
“To our knowledge, we have not received any plans or any other documentation, at this time, pertaining to a hardware store in that location,” Cassidy Harris, Columbia County’s public relations manager, wrote in an email.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
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