'This side of town is underserved.' Freeport business expanding 2 years after opening

FREEPORT — Some Freeport residents might remember the storefront at 1271 W. Galena Ave. as Home Hardware or JCPenney, but now a new business continues to expand inside the once-vacant location.

“Since I was 18, merchandising has been my life,” Marty Allen, co-owner of Bargain Maxx, said. “The whole idea was that I wanted to bring something to Freeport that was affordable, but bring really great brands.”

Bargain Maxx opened in the Lincoln Mall in July of 2020, but grew out of that space in just more than a year. Since Bargain Maxx moved into its new location, it’s already expanded further into that building to revitalize a building that has been vacant for more than a decade.

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“I hear a lot of people excited about something on this side of Freeport,” Allen said. “There’s a lot of stores opening on the south side, but this side of town feels underserved. I think that’s another reason why people like to shop here. It’s convenient for them and it’s also nice to see this area of town get revitalized a little.”

Right now, Allen doesn’t have plans to expand further, but he’s said that before.

“No expansion is planned, but six months ago we didn’t plan on expanding this time,” Allen said.

Allen, who lives in Monroe, Wisconsin, has loved opening and expanding a business in Freeport.

“Freeport has been very receptive to us,” Allen said. “People want to see us succeed. They know that if they want businesses in Freeport to succeed that they have to shop here.”

Allen said it’s common to have customers come in once or twice a week to see what new things were put on the shelves. In fact, most of Bargain Maxx’s employees are former customers.

“We’re always offering different things,” Allen said. “People know that we’re putting products out on the floor 5, 6 days a week so new things are coming out all the time. People find items they love and they’ll buy everything we have and they’ll wait for it to come back and buy some more.”

Bargain Maxx is open 7 days a week. It’s located at 1271 W. Galena Ave. next to the Dollar General.

Jena Kleindl is a freelance correspondent. 

This article originally appeared on Journal Standard: Freeport's Bargain Maxx expanding two years after being open