New Michaels to open Aug. 23 in Westdale

CEDAR RAPIDS — A new Michaels store will open Aug. 23 in the Westdale Town Centre.

The new Michaels, at 3500 Dalton Way SW, will be about half the size of the Michaels in the Collins Road Square at 1470 Twixt Town Road in Marion. The Marion store opened in 1993.

The new, 16,000-square-foot store will be managed by Cecilia Martinez, 42, of Cedar Rapids, who is hiring about 50 employees to get the store up and running. Once the store opens, it will be staffed by three full-time and 17 part-time employees, she said.

The store will feature self-checkout but will always have at least one employee checking out purchases, Martinez said.

The new Michaels will carry the same craft-oriented items as the Marion store but in lesser volume. It will offer custom framing and also sell fabrics, which the Marion store recently began stocking.

Martinez said Michaels decided to open the new store due to the location and a perceived need to better serve the metro area.

Hours for the new store will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

The store’s Sept. 9 grand opening, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., will feature prizes, food and music, Martinez said.

Michaels Companies, a privately held business based in Irving, Texas, is North America’s largest provider of do-it-yourself arts, crafts and decor items. The chain has more than 1,300 stores in the U.S. and Canada, including one in Coralville north of Interstate 80.