Stewart’s Shops Makeover

Nichole Danyla

Staff Writer

If you take Vandenburgh Ave. to and from Hudson Valley, you may have noticed something different. The Stewart’s Shop on Mill and Erie has a new sign, and it’s not the only one. New signs have been placed on all of the Stewart’s locations, and some of them are even being rebuilt.

Stewarts decided to “update with the times”, said Stewart’s Public Relations Specialist Maria D’Amelia.

The new signs incorporate the full name “Stewart’s Shops” instead of just Stewart’s. The newer logo started cropping up in July of this year on their packaging and then on the buildings themselves.

“That’s just a logo that we are trying to be a little more cohesive [with] across the board,” D’Amelia said. They also updated their rest stop signs on major highways.

However, the signs aren’t the only new thing going on at Stewart’s.

Stewart’s built a new shop next to their old location on 112th Street in Troy before tearing the old one down. The new shop has white siding and an A frame roof making it look completely different from the other shops in the area.

According to D’Amelia, this new design started in 2010. The store is “one of six replacement shops on the schedule for this year,” she said.

“It’s really our loyal customers that enable us to reinvest back into our shops and our communities to provide updates that really allow us to serve them better,” said D’Amelia.

Not all of Stewart’s Shops’ locations will be rebuilt. Stewart’s only replaces shops if there is room to build another shop next to them in order to stay open for business. Some locations may only undergo minor upgrades or add-ons to the existing shop. According to D’Amelia, Stewart’s also has “new shops on tap” and will soon open their first shop in Syracuse.

“This is a very busy time and very exciting time for Stewart’s,” she said.

In all, Stewart’s has 330 locations in 30 counties in New York State. You often can’t go more than a mile and a half without seeing one of their shops. “We pride ourselves on convenience,” D’Amelia said.

Stewart’s is also trying to increase the items it sells. For example, they are adding pizza to the menu at their new store on 112th street. They want to be seen as more of a “food service,” D’Amelia said, because people come in for breakfast lunch and dinner for food “to take with them to work or school.”

Stewart’s tries to be “different than the normal expectations of a typical convenience store,” D’Amelia said. According to her, they like to create a friendly atmosphere in their shops and know their regulars by name.

Stewart’s also “produce and distribute three fourths of the products we sell” and get their dairy from 30 different local farms close to their manufacturing facilities and their eggs from a local supplier as well.

The company was started in 1945. “What makes us unique is that we are one third employee owned and two thirds family owned… [We] call [our] employees partners,” D’Amelia said. She added that the company also has “a lot of involvement out in the community and giving back… We give away about 2.5 million dollars to charity each year.”

You can go check out their new store on 112th street during their grand opening on Friday, Oct. 17. By then, the new gas pumps will be fully operational as well.