Starting Saturday, Aug. 16, shoppers can check out the first stores in the sprawling Rushmore Crossing shopping area. Doors at Furniture Row, on the west end of Rushmore Crossing, are set to open at 10 a.m.

"Unlike other furnishings retailers, our centers have four specialty stores at one destination," Bill McKendry, Furniture Row's marketing director, said in a prepared release. "Each store focuses on a particular category, and each store is managed and staffed with people who are extremely knowledgeable about their specific lines."

The specialty stores housed in the big building are Oak Express, Bedroom Expressions, Sofa Mart and Denver Mattress Co.

The Rapid City location's grand opening is set for Aug 23-24. The debut of the first stores in the Rushmore Crossing development comes on the heels of the Aug. 7 opening of Cabela's nearby.

Rushmore Crossing stretches along Eglin Avenue between east North Avenue and La Crosse Street, just south of Interstate 90.

Denver Mattress, which is moving from its current location at 240 Knollwood Drive, sells its own private-label mattresses, which it manufactures and distributes.

Sofa Mart sells leather and upholstered furnishings, as well as tables, armoires and other accessories. Oak Express sells wood furniture made of oak, cherry, maple and pine. Bedroom Expressions specializes in bedroom furniture.

The new Rushmore Crossing area also will include Target, Scheel's All Sports, Petco, hobby store Michaels, Gordman's, T.J. Maxx, David's Bridal and Shoe Carnival.

Target and Gordman's are hiring staff, and Gordman's is set to open Sept. 25. Target will open Oct. 12.

Construction crews are still working on the parking lot and the building that will house Scheel's All Sports. A developer told the Journal in July that the store would open in the spring. According to Scheel's Web site, the new store will be nearly three times as big as the current Rushmore Mall location, which opened in 1994.

The opening of the new Scheel's will mean the closing of the current location in the Rushmore Mall. Target officials have not yet said what they intend to do with their current Rapid City store, which is also in Rushmore Mall.

About Furniture RowFurniture Row includes Oak Express, Bedroom Expressions, Sofa Mart and Denver Mattress Co., all under one roof. Although the doors open Saturday, Aug. 16, at 10 a.m., the grand opening is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23 and 24. The location in Rapid City is the first in South Dakota and one of 330 locations in 30 states.

Contact Jeremy Fugleberg at 394-8421 or jeremy.fugleberg@rapidcityjournal.com