Menards

Wood.
I love wood.
Even the warped kind. I like to work with my hands, polish a few things, maybe nail a couple others. Menards fulfills my need for cheap wood.
I like to build things and I’m not the kind of person that needs perfect pieces of lumber to do so. I think the knots, cracks and splinters give it character and you gotta feel a little bad for the rejected pieces of what once were nice trees that they are selling for 59cents a board. I’m like a bloodhound on the hunt.
The thing about Menards wood is that most of it is already crappy and warped so unless you’re using it for projects like I do then you might want to get your wood somewhere else. But me, I enjoy pieces of trim shaped like hockey sticks.
The rest of this place is your standard hardware store and you can find quality merchandise as well as the cheap alternatives.
The garden area is my hang out when the weather is nice. I can buy plants for cheap and any good gardener can pick up a half dead plant in the discount section, nurture it back to health and enjoy a beautiful yard for the rest of eternity. Plants are simple organisms and finding the healthiest looking one isn’t my priority when I can make a sad one happy and save some money at the same time. I’ve never bought a plant here that didn’t grow into something beautiful by just cramming it into the ground and watering it. The hanging baskets are kind of a joke and oddly enough I’ve found the best deal on those at KMart. I wouldn’t spend $ 30 for a hanging basket of petunias that I could make for $ 10.
The other great thing about Menards is their receipt kiosks. If you lose a receipt, you can scan your card and it will pull up all of the purchases you had made, click on the one you want and out pops a receipt. It’s great for returns and for recovering receipt you need to turn in for work purchases, which I do frequently. There is no need to talk to the customer service people, which is always a plus in my book.
They seem to have pretty reasonable prices on their appliances, grills and hardware. I opt to go here before I would go to Lowes, just because of the price difference.
All of the employees have been very nice and helpful for the most part.
I will say that the bucket of Cheetos that others reviews are mentioning tastes like sweet cheesy foot fungus. Definitely grab them when you see them.

We frequent this menards when we’re in this ‘hood running errands on Robert St. It has most of the stuff we look for, and the folks have always been helpful, if sometimes hard to find. We did some major housework over the years & have dealt with lumber, outdoors, lighting-​electrical, plumbing, glass block, paint, doors, garden. Never have had any problems returning stuff, even after quite some time.
We have not gotten anything from the frozen sections or foods or appliances.

If you’re looking for frozen pizza you can find it at Menards! I went through looking for a ginormous bottle of simple green and found a row of freezers. Um. I’m going to attempt this morning to find a towel rack there… but might also just leave with the giant bucket of cheetos.

If you are looking for good hardware, this is not the place. However, if you are looking for the new Barbie movie and a giant bucket of cheetos, well mister, you have found heaven.