MONONGAHELA, Pa. & VERONA, N.Y. -- Two major regional retailers held convenience store grand openings this month. Sheetz Inc. unveiled a 4,600-sq.-ft. store in Monongahela, Pa. And Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes Inc. debuted its newest store in Verona, N.Y. Both facilities put a high emphasis on foodservice.
Sheetz's 65 local employees hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand-opening celebration last week. As part of the festivities, Sheetz made a $5,000 donation to the Monongahela Area Historical Society.
The new facility [image-nocss] replaces the Sheetz store that opened there more than 20 years ago. We are thrilled to open a new store in a community we have been a part of for more than 20 years, said Louie Sheetz, executive vice president of marketing for the chain, which operates 316 locations across six eastern and mid-Atlantic states. And we are equally thrilled to partner with the historical society on its documentary of the Monongahela area.
The new Sheetz location, which officially opened October 6, will offer Sheetz Bros. Coffeez prepared by a professional barista. A wide selection of custom roasted, specially blended espresso, latte and cappuccino can be prepared hot, iced or frozen, with a variety of flavorings.
We continue to look for ways to improve our offering, said Sheetz. What we want to create is a unique destination that easily fits into everyday life.
Sheetz's menu, prepared in an open-kitchen environment, includes a variety of made-to-order items, many of which were first introduced at the company's convenience restaurant concepts located in Altoona, Pa., and Raleigh, N.C. In Monongahela, customers will find cold and toasted subs, paninis and hand tossed salads. New convenience items include a self-serve bakery, cold grab'n go case, Teazzer iced tea and self-serve milk shakes.
Customers can also place their food order from touchscreen terminals located at the gasoline islands while fueling with Sheetz's 100% guaranteed petroleum products with the added convenience of cash or credit pay-at-the-pump on all fuel purchases.
Sheetz has also installed, systemwide, MasterCard PayPass, which allows customers to simply tap their PayPass-enabled card on a specially equipped terminal, eliminating the need for customers to hand over their card to a merchant or manually swipe it through a reader.
Separately, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes held the official grand opening of its new Verona store. The festivities included a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony, which took place October 15. Various dignitaries were on hand for the ceremony, and there was a notable turnout of people from the local community. Nice N Easy president and CEO John MacDougall and other Nice N Easy executives presided over the event.
The new Nice N Easy facility includes a full-service Easy Street Eatery with freshly prepared hot and cold food items and a produce department. The new store also offers gasoline and diesel fuel, a variety of grocery items at competitive prices and a number of other services.
The new location is open 24 hours a day and is managed by Eldon Burlingame with Randy Watson serving as the Easy Street Eatery manager.
To introduce the new store to the community, special reduced prices were offered on gasoline on October 15 from 1 to 3 p.m. during the grand opening. The day also featured a live radio broadcast on Big Frog 104, with chances for customers to win prizes. In addition, customers registered to win a number of prizes, and one customer won the grand prize, a 2004 Bombardier Outlander 4-Wheeler.
We're excited about this new store in Verona, said MacDougall. We look forward to meeting our neighbors in the days and weeks ahead and serving the surrounding communities with the best quality products and services 365 days a year."
Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes operates more than 80 stores throughout New York State with headquarters in Canastota, N.Y.
[Pictured: (Front, l to r): Fran Duskiewicz, Nice N Easy Executive Vice President/CFO; John MacDougall, Nice N Easy President & CEO; Bill Crowl, Oneida County Legislator; Peter Tamburro, Nice N Easy Executive Vice President/COO; (Back, l to r): Stephanie Fischer, AmeriCU Credit Union; Holly Pawlowki; Owen Waller, Supervisor Elect; Rick Rados, Planning Board Chairman; Walt Hojnacki, Zoning Board Chairman; Pat Nestle, Town Clerk; Jack Cushman, Nice N Easy Vice President of Food Services]
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