Target is June for O’Reilly to open in Farragut
A 7,500-square-foot facility is being built to house O’Reilly Auto Parts at the corner of Thornton Drive and Kingston Pike in Farragut.
Tyler Slack, vice president of the general contracting company Creative Structures Inc., said he expects the store to open by late June.
“They haven’t set an open date yet,” he said. “That will be a little later on in the process.”
Slack said the property, owned by Bill Weigel, was sought out by O’Reilly Auto Parts, adding it chose the site because of visibility and traffic count.
“We’re excited [about building the new store],” Slack said. “We have a great relationship with O’Reilly and we think it’s a great spot for them, and we hope it’s successful for the whole community.
“I think its products and its service will set O’Reilly’s apart,” he said.
Creative Structures, a local company, has built more than 300 O’Reilly Auto Parts’ stores nationwide, Slack said.
“We usually have about nine at a time, and we do anywhere from 25 to 30 stores a year,” he added.
“The head of our O’Reilly Auto Parts Division is Tommy Lawhorn, a Farragut High School graduate,” Slack said. “He’s built them all over the country. Now he gets to build one at his back door.”
“I live in Farragut so I’m glad I’m part of this job,” Lawhorn, project manager who oversees all O’Reilly Auto Parts projects, said. “Anywhere they want to build them I will go, but I enjoy just being down the road from where I live.
“We’re doing [an O’Reilly store] in Maryville the same time we are doing this one,” he added. “I’d say there are half a dozen, maybe more in the area.”
The O’Reilly store’s construction will fit in with the area, Slack said.
“It’s going to blend in with the new requirements of Farragut with brick and a little bit of stone,” Slack said.
“It will have an aluminum canopy over the front and a lot of landscaping.”
The Farragut O’Reilly’s store, an American auto parts retailer, will be one of more than 4,500 throughout the United States.
Michael Byrne O’Reilly founded the business in 1957 in Springfield, Mo.
“They’ll have anything from engine parts to wiper blades,” Slack said.
Besides automotive parts, it also sells tools, equipment for professional service providers and do-it-yourself customers.
Hours are usually from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., during weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, Slack said.
