Customers at Marigold (formerly “Merigold”) Liquor noticed some big changes this week to the store’s downtown Shawnee space — both inside and out.
It makes sense, owner Nick Karra said, since many of those customers have been around since long before the store got its new look.
“Most of our clients have been coming here for years,” he said. “All of our clients, they’re basically family at this point.”
For nearly two decades, Karra’s family has owned and operated the store.
In 2017, the Karras purchased the aging shopping center it resides in (now dubbed Marigold Plaza). Alongside developer Kevin Tubbesing of Stag Commercial, they began the lengthy process of revamping it.
This past week, the beginning of those efforts came to fruition. Marigold Liquor reopened in its new space on Monday, with much more newness to come to the downtown Shawnee shopping center later on.
Marigold is at 5907 Nieman Road
- The liquor store occupies a space at the Marigold Plaza, which is just off 59th Street and Nieman Road.
- There, the liquor store and shopping center are near McLain’s Market in downtown Shawnee.
- Marigold Liquor’s regular hours are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Marigold Liquor has a new look and more inventory
With the store’s new roughly 8,000-square-foot space, Karra said the revamp came with new offerings, both in terms of inventory and in the space itself, which has a new area to host weekly tasting events.
Marigold Liquor offers a wide variety of wines, beers and spirits — and the store is still adding to its stock.
“We had too much inventory for (our former) space, and over here, I feel like we have an additional 30 to 40% capacity,” Karra said. “Once we fill in all these shelves, selection is going to grow organically.”
Whereas the store’s liquor and cigar offerings were previously combined in one space, the two also now have their own distinct spaces within the new store.
The renovation began in December, and Karra said it took roughly seven months.
“Our thought process was, how can we enhance this experience for clients?” he said. “If we can become a destination liquor store and do things a little bit differently, where people will make the drive to come see us, that was always our goal.”
More changes in store for Marigold Plaza
When the redevelopment to Marigold Plaza is finished, Karra said the rest of the 16,000-square-foot shopping center will have the same refreshed exterior as the liquor store’s new location.
With Marigold Liquor now occupying the southernmost space at the shopping center, the rest of the shopping center will now have room for roughly two or three occupants.
Though details are not yet finalized for who those occupants will be, Karra said plans call for 4,000 square feet of the rest of the shopping center to be restaurant space.
As part of the redevelopment plan at Marigold Plaza, between 20 and 30 parking spaces will also be added to the shopping center.
The developers received roughly $1.5 million from the city for the redevelopment project, amounting from both Shawnee Entrepreneurial and Economic Development (or SEED) funding and American Rescue Plan Act funding.
By the beginning of this coming November, Karra said the renovated spaces at Marigold Plaza will likely be “rent-ready” for new businesses.
“Everything’s going to be brand new,” Karra said. “With our design, we tried to maximize what we could do and bring the best quality possible.”
Between the reopening of the liquor store and all that’s in store for the shopping center around it, Karra said he and his family are looking forward to seeing their hard work come to fruition.
“(My family) built that business from the ground up,” he said, referring to Marigold Liquor. “I think the most exciting part for me personally is being able to see their dream carry on. Now we can confidently say we’re not going anywhere.”
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