The Wilson Post
LEBANON WEATHER

Year-round Christmas store comes to Mt. Juliet




The Christmas Place owner Toby Barnes makes the announcement about the store with Santa Claus at the groundbreaking in Mt. Juliet on Tuesday morning.LAURIE EVERETT

The Christmas Place owner Toby Barnes makes the announcement about the store with Santa Claus at the groundbreaking in Mt. Juliet on Tuesday morning.LAURIE EVERETT

The cat is out of the bag and it’s wearing a red Christmas suit and white beard.

For weeks, there’s been a buzz about what was going to go vertical at the planned Sellars Station development in Mt. Juliet. Groundbreaking was held Tuesday for the 12,000- square foot Christmas Place, across Mt. Juliet Road from Sellars Funeral Home on three acres near the train station.

Owner Judd Sellars told the Wilson Post that the $3 million investment will make Mt. Juliet a destination place. The Christmas Place’s sister store, The Incredible Christmas Place, is already open in Pigeon Forge.

Sellars said the store in Pigeon Forge is owned by Toby and Karen Barnes, and their daughter, Kristin, and son-in-law, Mark Jackson, will operate this second Mt. Juliet store.

“They came to us,” Sellars said. “It was between Mt. Juliet and Brentwood. I know Mt. Juliet will embrace the Christmas theme and we are so family oriented. They saw my Sellars Park (built in 2014) development and loved the old-world-looking brick. They want to replicate that for their store.”

Judd Sellars celebrates with Dennis Buchanan at Tuesday’s groundbreaking for The Christmas Place, a sister store to the original in Pigeon Forge.                                                                                                                    LAURIE EVERETT

Judd Sellars celebrates with Dennis Buchanan at Tuesday’s groundbreaking for The Christmas Place, a sister store to the original in Pigeon Forge.                                                                                                                    LAURIE EVERETT

Sellars has been negotiating the project for about four months, he said.

“This will change the face of Mt. Juliet,” he said.

The site plan calls for about 65 parking places and space for tourists’ buses. Sellars said part of the footprint will be a four-story bell tower that can play holiday music year-round.

Construction on the store is scheduled to start the second week of October and could be open by Christmas time.

“I am so excited,” Sellars said. “Women love the concept and we’ve worked so hard to bring it here.”

The Christmas Place announced its planned arrival in Mt. Juliet at a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday.LAURIE EVERETT

The Christmas Place announced its planned arrival in Mt. Juliet at a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday.LAURIE EVERETT

Owners of The Christmas Place announced Tuesday that they plan to be the tenant of Sellars Station in Mt. Juliet.SUBMITTED

Owners of The Christmas Place announced Tuesday that they plan to be the tenant of Sellars Station in Mt. Juliet.SUBMITTED

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