Stewart’s Shops is acquiring a family-owned market in Dexter, New York—Dexter Market and Bay Spirits—that the convenience-store chain has been eyeing for a while.
“We’ve been knocking on their door for quite some time now. [The Village of] Dexter’s always been a market we’ve been interested in, and we finally came to an agreement,” Molly Russell, a Ballston Spa, New York-based Stewart’s Shops real estate representative, told CSP.
The family that owns Dexter Market was ready to sell, Russell said. “It’s after their father died,” she said. “They wanted to hand it over to another family-run, family-owned company.”
Russell said there will be no major changes to the exterior of Dexter Market and Bay Spirits, which is under contract to Stewart’s Shops. They might add a couple of windows, she said.
“It’s all going to be an interior remodel,” she said. “We don’t know to the extent of what we’re doing yet.”
- Stewart’s Shops is No. 22 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by U.S. store count.
The acquisition includes not only the market building but also a smaller second building, which was the original market. That market was converted into a liquor store and laundromat in the last decade—and a second building, now the market, was constructed, Russell said. The smaller building will keep those two businesses—but with new operators, she said.
“Once the real estate transaction is complete in the coming weeks, we’ll do some minor interior renovations to the property to get it up and running as quickly as possible,” Robin Cooper, public relations manager for Stewart’s Shops, told CSP.
Russell added: “It all depends on when we close,” she said. “We’ll need to be in there for a couple of weeks before we can fully open as a Stewart’s.”
Dexter Market and Bay Spirits, which sells foodservice and grocery items, has operated in Dexter for decades.
This acquisition is part of Stewart’s Shops’ expansion in northern New York State. The company in October acquired the Sliders Food Mart convenience stores, expanding its presence in that area, and the Dexter market acquisition is part of those plans.
“This location is an important area for Stewart’s,” Cooper said.
“This expansion is part of Stewart’s commitment to continue identifying communities throughout New York, Vermont and New Hampshire where fresh food, beverages, gas and other essential services are needed to support communities,” the company said on its website in October regarding the acquisition of the Sliders stores.
Terms of the Dexter deal were not disclosed.
Stewart’s, a family- and employee-owned convenience store chain, operates more than 400 shops in three states. Founded in 1945, Stewart's Shops chain operates in upstate New York, New Hampshire and southern Vermont. While Stewart's Shops is mostly owned by the family of chairman William Dake, employees also own about 40% of the company through an employee stock ownership (ESOP) plan. It is known regionally for its milk, ice cream, coffee, to-go food, gasoline and other convenience items. The company has an extensive production, distribution and warehousing network that supplies its stores.
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