Just in time to meet your Christmas dinner shopping needs, Save-A-Lot is opening in Downtown Batavia.
Planning opening is Dec. 21.
Victor Gautieri, of V.J. Gautieri Constructors, Inc., showed off the space for Save-A-Lot on Friday and said by next week, installation of shelves and cases will begin followed by inventory stocking.
"Save-A-Lot is definately going to fill a need," Gautieri said. "The demographics are perfet for a store like Save-A-Lot. It fits their model perfectly. We’re looking for a very, very successful store."
Gautieri said he expects the customers Save-A-Lot brings to the Ellicott Street location will mean more business for the shops in the immediate area.
"It’s going to be a beehive out in the parking lot," Gautieri said. "There’s going to be a lot of people in the area. We’re anticipating folks that are shopping here at Save-A-Lot, they’re going to go the banks, maybe go to Alberty Drugs, head over to Valle Jewelers, just hit this whole Court Street Plaza area, and hopefully extend out (to the rest of Downtown)."
The Gautieris are also hopeful that Save-A-Lot's success will help attract tenants to the additional 22,000 square feet of retail space available in the former Latina's/Jubilee/Montgomery Ward building.
The family owned construction and real estate company has been buying ads, putting out feelers, doing research and everything they can to find the right tenants for the west side of the building.
"We’re really pushing for retail," Gautieri said. "That’s what downtown Batavia needs is retail."
The 22,000 square feet of space can easily be partitioned into several storefronts, each with windows and doors on the west side of the building.
How the space will be partitioned off depends on what kinds of stores come forward and sign leases.
"We will tailor the space based on the particular tenant," Gautieri said. "It's going to be hard to tell (how the space will be configured). Everybody has their own requirements for their business. We’ll just build it to suit."
Right now the space is filled, both with all of the shelving and cases that will be moved into the Save-A-Lot store, along with leftover fixtures from Latina's. Once all of that is cleared out, Gautieri anticipates they can more effectively show the space to potential tenants.
Welcome To Batavia!
Welcome To Batavia!
Congratulations John & Bill.
Congratulations John & Bill. Welcome back to the Genesee County market, Bill! Best of luck.
I can hardly WAIT !!!!!
I can hardly WAIT !!!!!
I looked on the Save-A-Lot
I looked on the Save-A-Lot website and didn't see anything about employment for this particular store. Does anyone know if they're still hiring & where I can apply?
I am skeptical that a
I am skeptical that a Save-A-Lot is going to be an anchor store for a downtown upscale shopping experience. Is there an example of this business model somewhere currently? Their target demographic is the wrong fit. Dash's Market would be another matter entirely.
I doubt that the plaza needs
I doubt that the plaza needs upscale tenants to be successful. The demographic in that area is foot traffic (people without cars to get down to Tops/Walmart) and is price sensitive (people on fixed or otherwise limited incomes looking to minimize costs). This is good for Save-a-Lot and probably would work well for other types of retail.
I've had a quite a few people
I've had a quite a few people who could probably afford to shop at a Dash tell me they're glad to see Save-A-Lot coming to downtown. It's a convenience factor. These people either live or work in or close to downtown.
Whether it's an anchor or not, who knows. I think it will definitely be a magnet, and more traffic downtown is good for our community.
My comment was based on the
My comment was based on the letter I received from V.J. Gautieri Constructors, Inc., looking for tenants. It was the impression I got from it.
I was in Corning's Gaffer District on business last week. It would be nice to have something like that here but I doubt that will ever happen until the hodgepodge approach of trying to attract people to Batavia is replaced with a concerted, joint effort. The nonsensical arguments coming from downtown business owners against the Chamber/Tourism Office moving out by the Thruway immediately comes to mind. It really shouldn't be viewed as a reward for outsiders finding their way to it, should it?