Smaller Home Depots

The Home Depot Inc. (Atlanta), testing smaller store formats, has reopened two renovated former Yardbirds stores in Concord and Petaluma, Calif.

Supporting twin retail banners, the 30,000-to-40,000-square-foot units feature lower ceilings and fixtures, a racetrack layout and a large design center in the middle of the store. Neither location has lumber or building materials.

In 2006, the 10-unit Northern California hardware store chain was acquired by Home Depot, which closed two locations and converted three others into full Home Depot formats. The remaining five units are being remodeled into a new, smaller type of store that Home Depot calls a test. In addition to Concord and Petaluma, the test stores will be located in Alamo, San Pablo and San Rafael. The San Pablo store, the only Yardbirds to have carried building materials, will have a drive-though lumberyard.