SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Stewart's Shops is upgrading the fuel infrastructure at some of its stores and is adding new locations.
The company is spending $200,000 to upgrade gasoline facilities at its store in South Glen Falls, N.Y., one of many upgrades the company is undertaking throughout the area this summer, reported The Saratogian.
Late last week, large new underground storage tanks arrived at the site to replace older models installed 17 years ago. When completed, by the end of next week, the gasoline dispensers will have [image-nocss] a variety of new environmental safeguards and give customers the ability to make at-the-pump purchases with credit and debit cards.
"It's something you've got to do to maintain your facilities," David Rothberg, Stewart's gasoline marketing manager, told the newspaper.
Rothberg said the new system will have a containment mechanism beneath the gasoline islands in case a pipe breaks. Previously, there was none. Also, there will be a new 15-gallon containment system to collect gasoline in case there is an overfill during deliveries. The old system had a five-gallon overflow tank. Also, a new electronic monitoring system will alert people at Stewart's corporate offices if there is any kind of gasoline problem at the store.
Before, the USTs for unleaded regular, midgrade and super gasoline were all the same size. As prices have escalated, regular unleaded now accounts for 94% of gasoline sales, compared to 75% several years ago, Rothberg said. So the regular tank will have more capacity than those for midgrade and super, he added.
Similar projects are planned for the West Milton, N.Y., store beginning July 9, and a Clifton Park, N.Y., store later this summer, the report said. Excavation and replacement of old tanks takes about three weeks.
"We're spending more money on upgrades now than we are on new stores," Rothberg told the paper.
The South Glens Falls store has remained open for regular retail business during the gasoline tank replacement.
The chain recently opened a new store in Corinth, N.Y., giving it three shops within a quarter-mile of each other in the village. The newest shop was previously a Mobil service center that Stewart's purchased from Congress Gas & Oil Co. Stewart's continued to run it as a gas station until opening a retail store there, too.
Later this year, Stewart's plans to eliminate gasoline sales one of the other Corinth stores, which eventually might be closed altogether, said the report.
In Fort Edward, N.Y., Stewart's plans to open a new store by August 8, the Saratogian said. The company has razed a former Warren Tire building and replaced it with a new Stewart's shop. Plans call for making upgrades to an existing Stewart's store in downtown Fort Edward within the next year, the company told the paper.
In Queensbury, N.Y., the company hopes to start construction on a new store sometime in August, with the possibility of a September opening. The site previously had a Sunoco station with a small convenience shop. Stewart's plans to raze those facilities and build a new store to its own liking. Stewart's has an option on the property and is now going through the approval process. The site is adjacent to an existing McDonald's and there are issues about rights-of-way and shared land, the report said.
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-based Stewarts operates more than 320 dairy convenience stores in eastern New York and western Vermont.
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