Community Store to hold Upcoming Open Houses to Help Boost Last Stretch of Campaign

Posted on: Tuesday, January 22, 2008

SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake Community Store will boost the home stretch of its campaign in the upcoming weeks to sell sufficient shares to open the store, Store President Melinda Little announced this week.

Once the minimum of $500,000 is reached, the location of the store will be finalized, staff hired, inventory purchased and the store opened. Currently, the Community Store holds $220,400 in hand.

First of all, organizers are changing their office hours to be more user friendly, Little said.

“We will now be open from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays in our office on the second floor of the HomEnergy Building at 33 Depot Street,” Little said.

The home stretch will also include an open house during Winter Carnival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 2 at the chamber of commerce in the Harrietstown Town Hall in Saranac Lake in hopes that visiting family and friends who love Saranac Lake will come in from the cold to buy shares to support the continued viability of our downtown, Little said.

Another open house is planned from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31 at the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce.

In March, the store will hold a Buddy Night, in which current shareholders are encouraged to bring along a buddy who has not yet bought shares. The event will be held at Bluseed Studios in Saranac Lake.

There will be a variety of other actions to reach out to the community to explain what the store is all about and to recruit new shareholders in the future.

“We want people to know that we are back from the holidays and rarin’ to go,” Little said.

Any New York resident can receive a prospectus and buy one or more shares. Shares cost $100 each. Out-of-state residents who want to make a contribution to the store can make a donation to help with marketing and advertising expenses. The store will be open to the general public.   

The Community Store hopes to open next spring in about 5,000 square feet of retail space in the downtown Saranac Lake area. The Depot area of downtown recently received a $588,000 Restore New York grant for redevelopment and revitalization efforts.

The Community Store has expressed interest in locating on Depot Street in a building owned by Dan Rielly, once construction is complete.

“We are determined to carry reasonably priced goods,” said Little. “So far, people have suggested such things as clothing, shoes, baby supplies, linens and towels, fabric and sewing notions, and craft goods. The store will expand local shopping options, keep local dollars at home, and help to create a diverse and thriving local retail economy.”

The Community Store was formed, in part, in response to what some said was a retail void in Saranac Lake after a deal with Wal-Mart fell through in 2006.

For further information, visit the Web site at www.community-store.org, or call Melinda Little at 891-0197.

— Heather Sackett