Meet Rick Landsman. He was a cop for 35 years in Baltimore County, Md., the third most populous county in the state. Rick is the president of the Guntry Club in Owings Mills, Md. ⌠full-service cafĂŠ, 34 indoor shooting ranges, a simulator, a cigar bar, and gun experts galore.Those are some highlights. And, as you may have heard, Rick is bringing Guntry to Ohio County, West Virginia.Construction of the $13 million, 50,000 square structure continues this week at The Highlands in the large lot directly in front of the Hampton Inn & Suites along Bob Wise Drive. Guntryâs address will be 45 Caliber Drive when completed in eight or nine months, and the club will employ as many as 35 full- and part-time employees.âWeâre excited to see how far along the construction is already,â Landsman said. âWeâre shooting for a Fall opening so we can start working with our new members here and with everyone who visits. Itâs going to be very exciting for everyone at Guntry because this is our first expansion.The groundwork is well underway on the new Guntry Club near the Hampton Inn at The Highlands.âBut the first thing I liked is that every major chain is here at The Highlands, and thatâs a really big deal when it comes to opening a business like ours. Plus, weâll have the folks from western Pennsylvania just up the interstate, and the folks in East Ohio on the other side of the Ohio River, and this region as a whole is a hunting region,â he said. âThereâs a great customer base here, and itâs a shooting customer base and that has us all very excited.âRecruiting credit goes to Jason Rine, the business development manager for the Regional Economic Development Partnership, and the Ohio County Commission and the Ohio County Development Authority were involved as well.âAs soon as this project was introduced, it was a no-brainer to me because of this area,â said Commissioner Don Nickerson. âAnd as someone who loves to shoot and who has a son who loves to shoot, weâre very excited about this development and would be even if I wasnât a commissioner in Ohio County. This development will further diversify The Highlands, too, and thatâs a terrific thing because weâve needed more entertainment and recreation, and this fits in both of those categories.âWe have a lot of retail and restaurants, and we have light industrial, lodging, and some entertainment, too,â the commission president said. âThe Highlands Sports Complex has been a tremendous addition up there, and the Guntry Club, I believe, is going to be an overwhelming success because of what we love here in the valley.âA version of the simulator system that's very popular in Owings Mill will be constructed at The Highlands.Open InvitationSomething didnât add up. Landsman saw people and lots of them.But.âI have to be honest; when I first came here, I kept wondering where everyone lived. I saw a lot of folks and a lot of cars, but had no where everyone lived,â he admitted with a chuckle. âBut then I went down the hill and saw the valley, and what a beautiful place it is.âBut itâs true; I came up here and immediately fell in love with the area. That was two years ago and today weâre under construction.âGuntry will offer a variety of membership options and welcome members of the public, as well. The facility in Owing Mills features 34 indoor ranges, and shooters of all skill levels are welcome.âWe watch our memberships very closely because we donât want our memberships to be too much for the area, and we also want our members to get a shooting lane quickly when they come in because theyâve made that commitment,â Landsman said. âIf you want to shoot often, the membership is the way to go because after a couple of visits, youâve paid for it right there. And at our Maryland location, we have some folks who come in several times per week.Landsmen (far left) plans to hire as many as 35 individuals by the time Guntry opens this Fall, and membership numbers will dictate how many more will be needed.âWe welcome the public, as well, and sometimes folks just want to come in, pay the lane fee, and knock off some of the rust before they go hunting,â he said. âWe have safety folks all over the place, and we have a lot of special events through the year, too. Right now, we have over 2,800 members in Owen Mills, and weâre proud of that fact.âLandsman already has held conversations with law enforcement officials in the Upper Ohio Valley to explain what will be possible at the Highlands facility.âWe welcome law enforcement at our Owens Mill facility, and we hope itâll be the same here. You have a lot of agencies in this area and based on the conversations Iâve had with a few of them, folks are really looking forward to it,â Landsman said. âWorking with law enforcement is important to us because thatâs where we come from.âAnd I know everyone is going to be impressed with the âshoot houseâ we have. Weâll be able to put a car in the âshoot house,â too, so local law enforcement will be able to work on vehicle takedowns and other scenarios.âSeveral shooting ranges will be included within the facility under construction right now at 45 Caliber Drive in Ohio County.Incoming CrabâItâs not just all about guns. I want to make shooting and training enjoyable.âThatâs what Landsman explained to Baltimore Sun reporter Pamela Wood in 2017 after he and business partner Brian Wolf announced their plan to convert an 84,000-square-foot former office building in the Baltimore suburb into a high-end shooting range.âAnd thatâs what weâre going to do here at The Highlands, too,â Landsman said. âPeople are going to have a very good time at a very nice place. At Owing Mills, people come in just to have lunch because they like our food so much.âOur crab cake is delicious,â he said. âWe had three of the top Baltimore chefs help us with our crab cake recipe, and we like it a lot.âRetail areas for clothes, firearms, and ammunition will be included in the new building at The Highlands.But it will take more than a crowded cafĂŠ to convince Landsman and his team to begin searching for a third location.âWeâve been having some conversations about where we would go next if and when weâre ready to expand to another market,â the founder said. âBut I can tell you that weâre going to try to get Guntry all over the nation. Thatâs our dream. We believe in the business model that much.âOur members have told us how much they enjoy it, and their guests always ask us to bring on to where they live. We hear from people from across the country,â Landsman said with a smile. âI wish we could put them everywhere, but it takes time. Weâve also had some discussions about franchises, but weâre just not there yet. We want to see how our Highlands location does, and from there weâll decide on the next one.â