By Paul Post
How important is Stewart’s Shops to the upstate economy?
The Saratoga County-based firm spends $50 million per year on remodeling projects, replacing old stores with new ones, and entering new markets in 32 counties from the Canadian border to Newburgh, and southern Vermont to Oswego on Lake Ontario.
“Our territory swells from the outer edges,” Chief Operating Officer Chad Kiesow said. “We’re very successful when we’re in areas where people understand what we provide. We’re not your typical convenient store selling snacks, beverage and cigarettes. In some communities we’re a local grocery store. In others, we provide a dining area and a place for people to enjoy our own fresh-made products.”
“Fifty percent of our opportunities come via phone calls from people asking us to locate there,” he said. “The other half, we’re out pounding the pavement looking for communities that need the services we can provide.”
Kiesow joined Stewart’s in 1994 and is chairman of Saratoga Chamber of Commerce in 2024.
With 359 shops and 5,000 full- and part-time employees, Convenience Store News says Stewart’s Shops is the nation’s 18th largest chain, and generated $1.7 billion in revenue in 2022 (zippia.com). Industry leader 7-Eleven is the largest convenience store company with more than 12,700 sites.