BUTLER TWP - The Friedman's grocery store in Saxonburg could be the fastest built building in the county if the corporation hits its mark of having the store open in time for the winter holidays.

Art Keeney, a Friedman's vice president, said the 28,000-square-foot store is being built on the same footprint as the building that was destroyed by a May fire.

"But it will be a better store because we won't have all the old add-ons to deal with. It will be a more open floor plan and while the store will be the same size, it will seem larger," Keeney said.

Space was added to the old store in a piecemeal fashion through the years, creating false ceilings and cubbyholes that helped destroy the building when it caught on fire.

He said the new store's floor plans have not been completed, but the company is pressing for their completion and to have them bid out to contractors.

While Friedman's hired Marc Anthony Construction of Pittsburgh as general contractor for the project, the company retained the ability to hire individual contractors for heating and air conditioning, plumbing and electrical work.

"We want to be able to hire as many local contractors as possible. This way if a local contractor comes in, maybe not with the lowest bid, but a reasonable cost, then we will be able to hire them," Keeney said.

Friedman's executives have also been picking the brains of their customers for services and items to be featured in the new store.

"We have gotten hundreds back and I'm happy to say that the top 10 items our customers named were on the list we had prepared," Keeney said.

Among those items are an expanded deli, bakery, frozen food and prepared foods sections.

As for the exterior look of the new store, Keeney said Friedman's executives have taken into account the store's customers, the historical nature of Saxonburg, the new requirement that the store add sidewalks and the need for additional landscaping to help direct a better traffic flow in the parking lot.

Keeney said Friedman's expects to move the 65 employees, who were displaced by the fire, back to the Saxonburg store if they choose to go.

"Most of them have been employed in our other stores and they may like where they are, but they have first crack at the Saxonburg jobs," he said.

"We plan on having the store completed before the end of the year and we are looking to have it open in time for the holidays. That will be a major accomplishment for us," Keeney said.