"It was an opportunity to operate a store at an entrance to the city," Stewart's marketing manager Tom Mailey told The Business Review of Albany yesterday.
Stewart's began operating the store last week after [image-nocss] the Saratoga Springs-based ice cream retailer and convenience store chain closed on the property, said the report.
The sale comes as Sunoco moves forward with its plan to sell 165 properties around the country, including 16 in New York. The company hired Chicago-based NRC Realty Advisors LLC to oversee sales as Sunoco looked to improve its bottom line. "These locations are being sold as part of a continuing review of Sunoco-branded retail outlets," Sunoco senior vice president of marketing Robert Owens said earlier this year.
As part of the agreement, Stewart's will sell Sunoco gasoline at its new property. It will be the third downtown Saratoga Springs store owned and operated by Stewart's. the report added. The family and employee-owned business already has two stores within two blocks of the Broadway corridor where the new store is located. Those stores will continue operating.
Stewart's already has begun moving in its own shelving, milk and ice cream products in the new shop, said the report. The company will not be able to sell alcohol at its new store for some time while it waits for the state Liquor Authority to clear a large backlog in applications, Mailey said.
The building is about 2,600 square feet in size and is 19 years old. It is located across the street from the Saratoga Springs City Center, a convention facility which is expected to undergo a $16 million expansion and renovation, the report said.
The gas station and c-store is located on a 0.56-acre lot and generated nearly $1.1 million in sales, according to NRC Realty marketing materials cited by the newspaper.
Mailey said he would expect the store will see increased business under Stewart's management.
Under the terms of the sale, the report said, Atlantic Refining & Marketing will have the first right of refusal to repurchase the property if Stewart's decides to sell it in the next 10 years.
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