SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Stewart's Shops is updating the look of its stores, according to a report by The Times-Union.
For decades, Stewart's Shops were instantly recognizable for their distinctive architecture, usually one-story brick buildings with mansard roofs, said the report. "The mansard roof really acted as a sign," Tom L. Lewis, real-estate representative for Stewart's, told the newspaper. "People could see the building and know it was a Stewart's."
But planning boards are insisting on unique designs, said the report, and Stewart's is finding that customers like the updated look of the newer stores.
The typical shop previously was about 2,400 square feet, while the new ones are closer to 3,000 square feet.
That extra room means the stores have more storage space and the aisles will be less crowded.
Stewart's spends about $1 million to $1.3 million on each new store, Lewis said.
One newly opened store in Latham, N.Y., now has 23 parking spaces, up from 11 at the old store on the same site, said the report. Gas pumps are easier to reach, and the lighting has been improved.
Last year, Stewart's replaced stores in Warrensburg and Lake George, N.Y., with new buildings, both of which have an "Adirondack look," Lewis said.
The new stores often are built not far from the existing stores, which remain open throughout the process, Stewart's marketing manager Tom Mailey told the paper. The old buildings are then quickly demolished.
In a separate report by the Post-Star, Mailey said that the company is remodeling 30 of its stores.
He also said that Stewart's has maintained consistent growth, even during the recession, because "most of our products--our ice cream, our sodas--are made in-house. We employ our own fleet of trucks, and our milk is locally sourced. The whole thing cuts out the middleman. It probably sounds like we're control freaks, but it helps provide better service."
Total sales for 2011 were more than $1 billion. "[Cigarette] sales are down because of taxes. But our ice cream and gas sales continue to be strong. ... We'll be rolling out a new ice cream in March for St. Patrick's Day and then five more this summer."
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-based Stewart's Shops is an employee- and family-owned convenience store chain known for milk, ice cream, coffee, food to go, gasoline and more. There are approximately 330 Stewart's Shops located in more than 30 counties across upstate New York and southern Vermont.
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