By Christine Graf
\nStewart\u2019s Shops has announced plans to spend $50 million to construct new stores and replace smaller, older stores with shops that include more space for prepared foods and coffee.
\nAll new stores will have expanded parking lots and gasoline services, and some will include beer caves, the company said.
\nThe new stores will be located in 11 counties including Albany, Saratoga, Oswego, Rensselaer, Oneida, Warren, Columbia, Essex, Clinton, Ulster, and Orange .
\nAccording to company spokesperson Erica Komoroske, the new locations will average 3,750 square feet in size and cost between $2.5 million and $3 million to construct. Fifteen new stores are slated for 2019, and stores in Clifton Park, Mechanicville, Oswego, Yorkville, and Brunswick have already been completed. The company hopes to finish work on the remaining 10 stores by the end of the year.
\nStewart\u2019s also has major remodels planned for several existing locations.
\nThe company bids new projects to outside contractors, and its new stores are being built by numerous different constructions companies. Those companies include Hilltop Construction\u00a0in Hudson Falls, Emco Construction in Guilderland and MLB in Malta.
\nThe Stewart\u2019s Shop being constructed on New Karner Road in Albany is the only new location that will have a car wash. The car wash will be leased to Albany-based Clean2o Touchfree Car Wash. Clean2o currently leases the car washes at the Stewart\u2019s Shop and Mobil Station on Marion Avenue in Saratoga Springs and at the Stewart\u2019s Shop in Cohoes.
\nThey operate a total of six car washes throughout the Capital Region.
\nAlthough Stewart\u2019s has no immediate plans to build car washes at any of their other locations, Komoroske said the company would consider making future investments in car washes \u201cwhere it makes sense.\u201d
\nStewart\u2019s employs more than 4,500 people at over 335 shops located throughout New York and southern Vermont. Additional employees will be hired to staff new stores as they open.
\n\u201cFor new shops, we usually hire 12-15 people. For replacement shops, we may make a few hires, but we bring over the staff from previous shop,\u201d said Komoroske.
\nThe company also announced closing of its store on Main Street in Hudson Falls.
\n\u201cFor Stewart\u2019s Shops, the trending area of profitability has been in the food-to-go category. Unfortunately, this shop does not have the ability to accommodate the equipment or space needs to expand food-to-go offerings, thereby limiting profitability. The inability to expand along with rising costs and increased regulations have made this closure necessary,\u201d a company statement said.
\nAccording to Stewart\u2019s Shops President, Gary Dake, \u201cAlthough this particular shop is not viable; we continue to invest in the area with substantial investments recently in our surrounding area shops in the greater Glens Falls region; we\u2019ll continue to invest in our existing shops in 2020. We are happy to say that all of our partners have been offered positions in nearby shops.\u201d
\nStewart\u2019s Shops thanked their Hudson Falls customers for their patronage and hopes they will continue to shop at the other shop locations including Burgoyne Avenue in Hudson Falls, Broadway in Fort Edward and Warren Street in Glens Falls.
\nTo search for employment opportunities at Stewart\u2019s Shops, visit www.stewartsshops.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Christine Graf Stewart\u2019s Shops has announced plans to spend $50 million to construct new stores and replace smaller, older stores with shops that include more space for prepared foods and coffee. All new stores will have expanded parking lots and gasoline services, and some will include beer caves, the company said. The new stores […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commercial-residential-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\r\n