Customers started knocking on the doors of the Farm & City Supply when the nuts and bolts were on the shelves, but the farm side of the store had yet to be stocked.

“There was a steady stream of people at the door, and we were still waiting to get our farm supplies in,” said store manager Darrell Horn. “We decided to go ahead and open the doors.”

That soft opening in June will be followed by a grand opening in September, when Farm & City’s complement of gates and fence posts, small disc and rotary mowers will be on display, along with tools and more than 5,000 air, oil and gas filters.

Like any good rural farm supply business, Farm & City also carries veterinarian supplies, feed, woven bridles, sprayers, tractor jacks and electric fencing. Need a red Radio Flyer wagon for the kids? You can find it Farm & City, along with nuts and bolts in bulk, a chop saw, a vise with a work light and a BB gun.

“If we don’t have it, we can get it within a week,” said Horn, who has more than 30 years in the retail business.

Farm & City is located at 1825 E. Army Post Road, the former location of Payless Cashways Inc., one of the country’s first big-box home improvement centers, just the concept the farm supply and hardware store wants to counter.

“We want to be more intimate than a big-box store,” Horn said. “Here, you can park at the door, get what you need and be on your way.”

The business can grow into a lot of space. Farm & City occupies about 6,500 square feet under the main roof. It has another 30,000-square-foot building that can be used to store inventory. And, it has an additional 15,000 square feet of open air where it can store equipment, fencing, hay and other items.

Horn pointed out that residents of the South Side presently have to drive to the north side of town, Ankeny or Knoxville to find the type of wares his store provides.

“There’s a gap, there’s a need on this side of town,” he said.