Manlius residents open to new Nice N Easy site

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Dec 27, 2002 by Bartlett, JoAnn

MANLIUS - Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes, Inc. recently purchased the Flannery Building on the comer of Enders Road and Route 92 in Manlius. Plans call for the demolition of the one-time, icecream stand to make way for a one-bay car wash, gas station, and convenience store combination, says John MacDougall, president of Nice N Easy.

The convenience store will be about 3,500 square feet, while the car wash will be 1,000 square feet. Jim Hagan is the architect and general contractor for the project. MacDougall would not release the cost of construction.

Nice N Easy will use about 1 1/2 acres of the eight acres purchased. MacDougall says he is talking with developers who are showing interest in the location for additional businesses. MacDougall says he likes the location because, "downtown (Syracuse) is so congested." Possibilities for additional businesses include a bank, a restaurant, a pharmacy, and a florist, MacDougall says. "Nothing is signed, so it's a bit premature to talk about names [of potential businesses]," he says.

The company president says the location is already zoned commercial with a hardware store, family restaurant, and offices nearby. Shortly after Thanksgiving, the company mailed a survey to 2,500 area residents to ask them what they would like in a convenience store. As an incentive to fill them out, the surveys offer $10 toward the purchase of gasoline once the store opens next summer. MacDougall says 1,000 surveys have been returned so far, and they are currently under review. MacDougall says he believes the incentive is why so many surveys were returned.

MacDougall says he is targeting business not only from Manlius residents, but also from Cazenovia and Pompey residents. He expects to hire 15 to 20 people in late spring.

Nice N Easy has 80 stores in upstate New York. MacDougall directly operates 32 of these stores. The remaining 48 stores are franchised. Revenue for all 80 gas and grocery stores is $150 million and the company employs about 1,200.

MacDougall purchased eight acres of a 56-acre location. He says Oot Construction plans to build 40 duplexes to attract "empty nesters," who summer locally and winter in the South, on the remaining 48 acres.