Paul Post
By Paul Post
Stewart’s Shops is pursuing another year of aggressive capital improvements with projects at 20 sites including several in Saratoga County.
Plans call for stores in seven new markets and replacing older buildings with large new facilities at 13 locations, the company said.
This comes on the heels of $50 million the Saratoga Springs-based company spent last year for construction on 18 shops, of which 12 were replacements. The other six previously belonged to the Central New York-based Blueox Neighborhood Market convenience store chain, which Stewart’s purchased and rebranded as its own.
But retail shop upgrades are only one part of the company’s capital program. “We are continuing to invest in our manufacturing facility in Greenfield,” spokesperson Erica Komoroske said. “We recently completed a 54,000-square-foot dry warehouse expansion project and we are currently expanding our deli cooler to address our ever growing customer demand for expanded food-to-go options.”
Founded in 1945, Stewart’s is among the Top 25 convenience store chains in America with 354 shops across 32 counties in New York and Vermont. Its territory stretches from Canton near the Canadian border, west to Oswego County, south to Orange County in the lower Hudson Valley, and east to Rutland, Vt.
The firm employs about 5,000 people, 4,400 in shops and 600 between its manufacturing and administrative departments.
Dun & Bradstreet Business Directory says Stewart’s has gross sales of about $1.67 billion per year.
Projects in various stages of approval are slated throughout the company’s territory in 2022. Those in Saratoga County are:
• In Malta, relocation of existing shop to the south of the site with the addition of gas. Approvals under way.
• On Marion Avenue, Saratoga Springs, submitting project plans shortly.
• On Weibel Avenue, Saratoga Springs, partially through approval process; doing DOT improvement with change to traffic signal.
• On South Broadway, Saratoga Springs, project submitted for approvals.
Shop replacements are also slated for Broad Street in Glens Falls, Burdeck Street in Rotterdam and Mohawk Avenue in Scotia along with Sharon Springs, South Potsdam and Ilion.
In Glens Falls, a new store is going directly behind an old one that will be razed to make room for gas pumps, which the site currently doesn’t have.
In addition, an existing store near the intersection of Quaker Road and Dix Avenue in Queensbury is being enlarged and remodeled.
“We are still working to secure approvals on new-to-market shops for 2022,” Komoroske said. “There are many factors that come into play when determining locations for new shops including proximity to our manufacturing plant, traffic patterns, needs of community and competitive landscape.”
“Due to our vertical integration, our expansion will radiate out from our current footprint,” she said. “We do not anticipate making any leaps far outside of our distribution network.”
Each new-to-market shop creates 10 to 12 jobs, according to the company.
Without citing specific numbers, Komoroske said the COVID-19 pandemic has definitely impacted expansion plans.
“Supply chain issues have certainly delayed both the start and completion of projects,” she said. “We’ve had to remain flexible and use alternative materials versus preferred ones to keep projects on track.”
But most municipalities have returned to regular in-person meetings, so the planning and approval process is getting back to a new normal, she said.
For new construction, Stewart’s hires outside local contractors, which provides a significant economic impact. Most remodeling jobs are done by in-house crews, Komoroske said.
Stewart’s recently announced the closure of one store on Central Avenue in Albany. Closures most often occur at sites where space isn’t available to expand services such as fuel and hot foods, Komoroske said.
“We have no immediate plans to close any other shops,” she said.