The old Kroger building will be coming to life again soon.
An Orscheln Farm and Home Store will be moving into the building, which has been vacant since 2010.
In a press release to announce the new business, Orscheln said the new store will offer farm and home related product in  more than a dozen departments, including lawn and garden, farm supplies and livestock feed, animal health, pet food and supplies, hardware, plumbing,  electrical, automotive, toys, housewares, clothing and sporting goods.
“We are excited to become part of the growing Mount Orab community,” says Lou Rivard, Regional Director of Operations for Orscheln Farm and Home. “We are looking  forward to building relationships with our customers as we work to  meet their farm and home needs.”
The Mt. Orab store will be the first one for the company in Ohio.  The closest store to Brown County is in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
Becky Honey of Orscheln’s Corporate Office in Moberly, MO, said that an opening date for the store has not been determined yet because building renovation plans would have to be made and completed.
She also said that the number of employees would be determined after an analysis by on-site managers.
Honey said that the company is already looking to hire employees for the store and that applicants can find more information at www.orschelnfarmhome.com.
Mt. Orab Mayor Bruce Lunsford said he was pleased to hear the news.
“It’s a great thing to have somebody going in there.  I understand that the company is very aggressive in their marketing, so that helps to get the Mt. Orab name out there.”
Lunsford expects the new store to bring many benefits to the village.
“It helps to promote the 68/32 interchange as a destination point.  Businesses like to be around other businesses so they can exchange customers.  This is filling a building that has been vacant for way too long,” Lunsford said.
“I also think that you will see more development in the area as a result of this.  I look for Kroger to out a bridge across the creek and develop their outlots at some point.  This could be the catalyst that does that.”
Lunsford said that more future development will bring even more success.
“That all creates more jobs, more tax base and possibly more development.  Business creates other business,” he said.
Orscheln Farm and Home is family owned and has served Midwest communities for more than 55 years.
The company owns and operates 165 stores located in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana and now in Ohio