Kohl’s officially opens new location to fanfare

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marcy Velte

Every parking space at the new Kohl’s in Amsterdam was filled Wednesday evening as the department store celebrated its official grand opening.

Hundreds of people showed up throughout the day to check out the town’s newest shopping destination and look for sales. Many came to the store on its first day open on Sunday to scope out items they hoped to buy cheaper a few days later at the grand opening event. Some were disappointed.

“A lot of the sales are the same as they were on Sunday,” said April Smith of Amsterdam, shopping with her 7-year-old daughter, Makenzie.

She’d had her eye on some wall decals at Target next door, but had seen them cheaper on Sunday at Kohl’s. She was hoping to get them for an even greater discount, but was still happy with the price, since she had a 10 percent discount coupon. Now her only problem was deciding which one worked better with her living room decor.

Her friend Tammy Fiorillo, who was along to give decorative advice, was shopping for school clothes with her 7-year-old son, Troy. They had already gone shopping, but she said extras are always needed and was hoping to score some more deals.

“I really thought there would be more of a celebration going on,” she said. “When Target opened a few years ago, there was a DJ and food and everything,” Fiorillo said as she tried to talk Troy into letting her buy him a pair of Tony Hawk brand pants.

The Amsterdam location is the 50th Kohl’s store to open in New York and is staffed by 130 full- and part-time employees. It is one of 30 new locations opening in the state this fall alone. The Amsterdam store is also one of 111 stores that is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The build has on-site recycling, water-efficient landscaping and regionally sourced building materials.

Town Supervisor Thomas DiMezza said he thought the introduction of a Kohl’s store to the area is great for the local economy.

“People were traveling to go to a Kohl’s in Albany and Saratoga. Now it will keep that money local and bring jobs to the Capital Region,” he said.

It is the first store to open in the new strip mall project by Benderson Development. DiMezza said seven new stores are planned, including Staples, Pet Smart, Michael’s craft store, Dollar Tree and Super Shoes. The two other tenants have not yet signed leases.

“Those openings should bring about another 500 jobs to the town,” he said. “It’s an exciting time.”

Starting next spring, another structure is expected to be built across from the one currently holding Aspen Dental and Moe’s Southwest Grill. DiMezza said it will be large enough to hold two additional stores, but no one has signed on for those slots yet.

Sherri Martagoh and her mother, Martha Beckett, were happy to hear about more new stores coming to the area. They visited Kohl’s on Sunday and again Wednesday, but said they didn’t mind since the trip was now a lot faster than driving to the Kohl’s in Clifton Park.

“There are a lot more people here today, maybe they didn’t realize the store has been open?” asked Martagoh.

“Or maybe they are doing the thing we did and are searching for more sales,” said her mother.