RED LODGE, Mont. -- Town Pump is having trouble building a new convenience store in Red Lodge, Mont. Maureen Kenneally, vice president corporate communications, for the retailer, wrote a guest opinion column that appeared in The Billings Gazette last week detailing the company's efforts after the Red Lodge City Council voted in late May to table until a permit request June 26 so there could be more discussion between the developer and residents.
"We at Town Pump are happy to have been a participant in a cooperative effort to design a building that fits in the community of Red Lodge," the column began. "We are pleased with the building design and hopeful that the citizens in Red Lodge will be pleased at the effort put forth by all involved in the development and planning to assure the integrity of preserving Red Lodge's Main Street."
She added, " Through negotiations, meetings and input from the concerned citizens of Red Lodge, an innovative and new approach has been achieved. This collaborative effort has resulted in a new standard for our Town Pump locations. We are very proud of this next-generation store."
Butte, Mont.-based Town Pump Inc. has been trying to build a store in the town southwest of Billings since 2004. Three previous Town Pump development proposals, all including casinos, were rejected by the city on the grounds that the business doesn't fit the historic character of this gateway community to Yellowstone National Park, the newspaper has reported. Red Lodge has consistently fought off fast-food restaurants and chain stores that would compromise the town's rustic ski- and-mining town character, it said.
Opponents like Jim Brien said that the Town Pump development would destroy the main entrance to a town that was recognized last year as one of the top 10 best-preserved main streets in the United States. "It's not against Town Pump, per say, but more about the size and scope of the planned development," he told the Gazette, "and how the development would impact our community and its history."
This current proposal does not include a casino.
"During a city public meeting in 2004, it was made abundantly clear to us that Red Lodge did not want another casino," wrote Kenneally. "We withdrew our convenience store/casino application based on the community's wishes. We were told we would be welcomed with open arms if we submitted an application for a store without a casino. Town Pump acknowledges that the citizens of Red Lodge do not want a casino built in this location. We recognize and commit to honoring the community's wishes. So we stepped back, took some time, and now eight years later we have a business model that works, and this is where we are today."
The current design features a 10,346-square-foot, two-story building. The main floor is 8,333 square feet and consists of the retail area merchandise area, kitchen, office, deli, coolers, checkout area and restrooms. The second story is 2,013 square feet and houses mechanical equipment, HVAC unit and storage. There is no retail space on the second floor.
The company has designed the brick and rock exterior to blend in with other Red Lodge businesses and structures. In an effort to blend with the community, it has also incorporated a copper roof into the design. Landscaping will provide a barrier to adjacent properties, and the usual microphone broadcasting speakers have been replaced with a more personal phone system on each island to minimize noise. It will replace LED lighting with high-pressure sodium lights.
Click here to view the full guest opinion column in the Gazette.
Town Pump was founded in 1953 by Tom Kenneally Sr. It now operates 87 corporate Town Pump Food Stores, according to CSPedia. All the stores are located in Montana. All sell gasoline; about half sell diesel. And 20 of the stores also feature a touchless, automatic car wash. It also has 28 truckstop locations, including some branded Flying J. The company also operates nine TownHouse Inns/Comfort Inns/Super 8 Motels hotels and six Lucky Lil's/Magic Diamond casinos.
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