A KitchenAid Experience

Eileen is a little "territorial" when it comes to her posts on Passions to Pastry, but she has allowed me to post "just this one time" about my visit to the KitchenAid retail and outlet store  . . .  Susan

My work brought me to Greenville, Ohio, this week, the county seat of a very rural area in western Ohio near the Indiana border.   Greenville is a small Ohio town that is doing well during our current economic crisis due in part to the KitchenAid mixer factory which has been in Greenville since 1919 when the first stand mixer was developed for home use.   The city's rich heritage includes the 1795 Treaty of Greenville which established the Northwest Territory and fueled the country's westward expansion by giving the new nation important access to the upper Mississippi . . . and we can't forget Greenville's favorite daughter Annie Oakley.    There are more than 80 buildings in Greenville on the National Register of Historic Places.  Among these is the site that houses the "KitchenAid Experience" retail store.  It was the Turpin House Hotel from 1885 o 1914 and later the building was home to five-and-dime stores.   My friend JoAnne lives in Arcanum, not far down the road, so we made arrangements to meet for lunch in Greenville at a great little restaurant and walk down the street to see my favorite Greenville store -- the KitchenAid Retail Center and Factory Outlet.

Retail space is cheap in little downtown Greenville, and the huge floor is full of rows and rows of every appliance in every color.  It makes a great impact when entering the store.

 

Cubbyholes flank the store on the left and right showcasing the 600 Professional Series mixer and the Artisan Series in eyecatching colors.

Another display shows every conceivable attachment for the mixer KitchenAid has to offer lined up in a very long row, each one attached to a black mixer.

The store also holds regular cooking events in the well appointed kitchen using all the KitchenAid products, of course.

The basement houses a small display of the history of KitchenAid and begins with displaying the 1,000,000th KitchenAid which was gold plated in celebration of the occasion.

A display of kitchens through the decades shows a ca. 1920s kitchen with some of the first KitchenAid stand mixers.  Although the design remains unchanged, the mixer has evolved . . . the model sold in 1920 weighed 68 pounds!

The rest of the basement is devoted to the Outlet Store which has virtually every color stand mixer or blender you can imagine that have been refurbished, but look factory-new, with a great price and six-month warranty.

I was at the checkout stand buying a Circus-themed baking pan (KitchenAid, of course) for my daughter when my cell phone rang.  It was Eileen.  She was at Macy's at the Mall of America looking for a -- get this! -- KitchenAid mixer for her daughter for Christmas and complaining about the price of a white stand mixer for $269.  I said, "Hold everything.  I just happen to be at  the KitchenAid Outlet Store.  What are the chances?" and handed the phone to the sales lady.  Within minutes Eileen had purchased a KitchenAid mixer in Pear (yes, the EXACT color of a Barlett pear) for $199 with free shipping.  It was as easy as that.   White models are $158.88.  Anyone interested in a great price on a KitchenAid appliance can telephone the retail center at 888.886.8318.   And if you're in the area, you can take a factory tour.   Telephone 800.861.0959 to make arrangements.