 After Bemidji's Kmart closed its doors at the Paul Bunyan Mall in the fall of 2012, much of it has sat empty until now. Today, the remainder of the vacant mall space opened as coals. Coals management staff cut out giant ribbon before officially opening for business. Bemidji's Coal Store is unique in the fact that it's one of only a few Coal Stores that's attached to a mall. This morning, a line stretched down the mall sidewalk filled with anxious customers waiting to check out the new retailer. Now that the department store is open, the Coal staff is happy and ready to serve the area. We got to really meet the community, really in that process, even got to really get the impression from the community that they're very excited that Coals is coming, that we got an extra retailer that can definitely deliver great value for the customer up here. Coals will continue their grand opening celebration through tomorrow where the first 50 customers get free FitBits and the following 50 will get gift cards. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.