Michaels welcomed into Wasilla for their grand opening over the weekend

WASILLA — Michaels, the national arts and craft store, has officially premiered in the Mat-Su, sharing space with FLY Trampoline Park inside the former Sports Authority building, attached to Target within the Cottonwood Creek Place. Wasilla Mayor Bert Cottle cut the red ribbon in front of the store on Sunday for the grand opening ceremony, christening yet another big business into the city.

“I thought it was a great day for Wasilla,” Cottle said in a follow-up interview.

Cottle said that he made the same speech he does for every ribbon cutting for a new business, “if they make money then we [Wasilla’s community] make money so I hope they make money.”

Michaels in the newest addition to about 183 corporate chains and part of about 2,250 total businesses in the greater Wasilla area, according to Cottle.

“Twelve percent of all of our businesses are chains,” Cottle said. “That’s out niche, our niche is shopping.”

He said that when a big name store like Michaels opens up it serves as a beacon of sorts, indicating to other chains and business owners that business is growing in Wasilla, so more are likely to follow suit sooner rather than later.

For the local shoppers?

It seems that bulk of the Valley’s population does a good portion of their shopping in Wasilla, then to Anchorage for everything else like Costco or the malls. Cottle said that about 70 percent of the Valley’s population lives within a 10-mile radius of Wasilla and that Michaels will be “one less reason to go to Anchorage.”

The Wasilla location is the newest of four total branches in the state, two in Anchorage and one more in Fairbanks. Cottle said this store created more than 20 jobs.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com