TUPELO – Sprint Mart is renovating and rebuilding several of 103 stores, and the most recent project is celebrating its grand opening.
The store at the intersection of North Gloster Street and Barnes Crossing Road is among the busiest in the company, so it was important that the store was made bigger and better.
"This is a raze-and-rebuild," Herb Hargraves, chief operating officer for Sprint Mart said of the project. "There was a Sprint Mart here before, and what we did was build this new store behind it while keeping it open."
It is the third store in Tupelo to have undergone the raze-and-rebuild, but not the last company-wide.
"Normally a convenience store operator would shut it down, take it down, rebuild and then reopen, but we don't like to interrupt business; we like our communities to still be able to shop our stores," Hargraves said.
The new store too a little longer to open than usual – three months – because the fueling stations were replaced and additional pumps and tanks were added.
The store is at least four times bigger than the old store it replaced.
"This just about maximizes the available space we have to work with on this piece of property," Hargraves said.
The store features its Finish Line fountain drink station, Best Bean coffee and its proprietary Chix chicken and Sprintzoni pizza.
Sprint Mart was founded in 1972 by Joe Gillis in Columbus, and stores are found in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. His son Rex is CEO. Both were at the grand opening celebration Friday.
Other partners in the ownership group include Charles Morris, Joe Morris and Matt Bogue.
Most Sprint Mart locations are convenience stores, but some are truck plazas. In fact, a Sprint Mart truck plaza under construction in Fulton.
"We're doing a raze-and-rebuild there as well," Hargraves said, adding that the store would be 10,000 square feet. Construction on that store is expected to completed next summer.
Hargraves said many stores are being "refreshed" and not all will undergo the raze-and-rebuild process.