Lock Solid Storage to open Sept. 4 downtown
The new owners of Lock Solid Storage at 118 S. Main St., Butler, have moved in and plan to open next week.
Andrew Sherry, one of the two owners of Lock Solid Storage, said the company received its certificate of occupancy Thursday, and he's hoping to open for business Sept. 4.
Sherry and his partner, Michael Liguori, bought the old building, a former G.C. Murphy in the 1940s and most-recently home to Rite-Aid until December 2014, from Tim Schaefer.
Schaeffer rented space to Rite Aid until it moved, and he operated Butler Record Storage in the floor above and below the retail space.
Sherry said another part of the deal with Schaeffer absorbed the record storage company into his new company.
While much of the record storage operations will continue as they did before, Sherry said the storage lockers, which come in sizes ranging from 5 by 5 feet to 10 by 15 feet, will be different from what people are used to. He said all of their lockers are climate controlled, making them ideal for storing anything affected by moisture, such as electronics.
“It's my first self-storage venture,” Sherry said. “I think we are doing it appropriately.”
Sherry said he has also adapted his business to the modern era through a website and smartphone app, which are both available now. The site and app show pricing and unit availability.
“I think that brings us into a different league than our competitors,” Sherry said.
Sherry said he plans to install racks full of merchandise like different locks and smaller personal safes. He said the office will have a small lounge area where customers can comfortably fill out paperwork. He said a lot of work was done to the lighting system that serves the storage units, making a change to sensor-driven LED bulbs that increase efficiency.
“We remediated everything,” Sherry said.
Sherry said he hopes he can expand into other areas as they continue to read the needs of the community. He said some of his ideas are to expand into authorized shipping, printing and virtual mailboxes, all of which are only in planning stages and need further development before being definite additions.
While their technology presence, new sign and clean-looking space may strike people as entirely modern, Sherry said he hopes to preserve a sense of history of the old building, including its aged exterior and some other features.
Upon purchasing the building and record storage business, Sherry also bought a counter from Schaeffer that is originally from the Willard Hotel, which used to be at where the Morgan Center is at 401-403 S. Main St.
“I didn't grow up in Butler, but I'm trying to do right by it,” Sherry said.
Sherry said he is also looking forward to working with other downtown businesses to find a common goal and role in the community.
“We're happy to be a part of the growth,” Sherry said.
