Hilliard-based Micro Center has finished the biggest renovation its flagship Columbus store has ever seen, adding roughly 6,000 square feet of retail space by converting back-of-house storage into selling floor.

The computer superstore officially relaunched its Bethel Road location on Aug. 22, with a morning event marking the completion of months of remodeling. The store never closed. It remained open to shoppers throughout the entire construction process.

Customers who know the old layout will find departments in new places. The Apple-branded "store within a store" moved closer to the front entrance, while the "Build Your Own" PC section shifted to the opposite side of the building. The Knowledge Bar, Micro Center's service and support counter, remains near the entrance in roughly the same spot.

The extra square footage also brought new product categories: robotics kits, 3D printers and filaments, laser cutters, toys and collectible card games now fill aisles that used to hold inventory crates.

Dan Ackerman, editor-in-chief with Micro Center, told Columbus Underground ahead of the relaunch that he expected big turnout. "I went to the re-opening we did in New Jersey for the store there — which was a similar remodel — and we had a big line that went around the back of the building," Ackerman said on Aug. 21.

Micro Center's parent company, Micro Electronics Inc., is headquartered on Leap Road in Hilliard. The company was founded in 1979 by John Baker and Bill Bayne, two former Radio Shack employees who started with a $35,000 investment. Its first store opened on Lane Avenue near Ohio State University before relocating to the Bethel Road building in 1996, the same year the home office moved to Hilliard.

The company operates about 30 stores in 20 states. The Bethel Road location at 747 Bethel Road serves as its flagship.

The renovated store is open at 747 Bethel Road, with the new robotics, 3D printing and collectibles sections available to browse now.