New owners visit market
SAXONBURG — Those in and around the borough who are longing for a grocery store to replace the former Friedman's Freshmarket will definitely have something special to celebrate on the Fourth of July.
The Sprankle family of Leechburg, Armstrong County, were in the West Water Street store Friday to oversee the work they hope will allow them to open Sprankle's Neighborhood Market by Independence Day.
Doug Sprankle, the store's owner, spent eight months trying to buy the 23,000-square-foot store from Merchants Distributors Inc. of Hickory, N.C.
MDI came into possession of the store as part of a settlement from a federal lawsuit won against Harold Friedman Inc., owned by Carole Friedman Bitter.
MDI successfully argued Bitter failed to make payments on a mortgage extended by MDI.
The Sprankle family is not looking at any of the other closed Friedman's stores at this time.
Sprankle's Neighborhood Market will look very different from the old Friedman's, according to Doug Sprankle, who received the keys to the store just Thursday.
The entryway will remain a cart room, but Sprankle's will add double-decker and children's carts to the supply of traditional shopping buggies.
The entrance to the store, which is now a double door, will be replaced with one large automatic door like the one at the entry to the cart room.
A coffee station will greet customers upon entry, and a bakery will replace the former deli.
Low-profile shelving will be installed to allow customers to see almost the entire store while shopping, and a 24-foot aisle in the middle of the store will provide a more roomy feel, Sprankle said.
“There will be more displays and a more open experience,” he said. “We like big, open stores.”
The first aisle at the produce section will be 42 feet wide, and all dairy items will be in standing refrigerated cases with LED lighting and glass doors.
“It'll have that more modern look everyone likes when they shop,” Sprankle said.
Marburger and Galliker's milk will be on the shelves, Sprankle said.
In addition to Saxonburg, names like Roebling and the townships surrounding the borough will be used in the names of the various departments in the store, he said.
“We want a more customer-friendly atmosphere,” Sprankle said. “A fun atmosphere.”
A 12-by-16-foot Wall of Valor will be installed inside the store between the front windows and the office to honor all military personnel, just like in the other two Sprankle's Neighborhood Markets, he said.“We've always looked up to the people who serve,” he said.Meat will be a significant feature at Sprankle's, as the company prides themselves on their high-quality meats.In addition to the large meat department behind the produce section, a “Steak Vault” will be added on the western side of the building near frozen foods.Families will get a combination from a store employee and open the lock to the vault themselves.The steaks inside are aged and put through a process that breaks down toughness and brings out flavor, Sprankle said.One mystery in the store is a feature Sprankle plans for the area that formerly housed greeting cards and stationary.He said the feature, which he could not yet discuss, will be the first of its kind in Pennsylvania.Sprankle said except for the need to replace a few ceiling and floor tiles, the building was in good shape.“The bones here are really good,” he said.Regarding the building's exterior, Sprankle plans to host many events and parties for the community in the parking lot along West Water Street.He said the family held an Oktoberfest at their Leechburg store that hosted 1,400 people.“We are big event people and we love our communities we operate in,” Sprankle said.He praised Saxonburg's activities, like Mingle on Main and the Saxonburg Festival of the Arts.“It matches up well with our values and our company vision,” Sprankle said.He plans to include a farmer's market-type shopping experience outside as well, weather permitting.Supermarkets are in the family's blood, as his father, Randy, owns the Leechburg store and his brother, Ryan, owns the Kittanning store.Randy Sprankle said he and Carole Bitter are longtime friends and many years ago, Bitter offered to sell the family all four Friedman's stores.He said MDI approached him about the possible purchase of the Saxonburg store after the lawsuit with Bitter was closed.MDI will serve as the vendor for nonperishable foods and other items at the Saxonburg store, as it does for the other two Sprankle's markets.Doug Sprankle said he will sublease areas of the store to local purveyors as well.Residents who learned of the new store on Friday were elated.“That's fantastic,” said Sandy Brown of Saxonburg. “We can hardly wait.”She said something has been missing from the tight-knit borough since Friedman's closed two years ago.“We need a grocery store in town,” Brown said. “Saxonburg is a very friendly town and people introduce themselves to you or offer to help you, and going to the grocery store is a nice social event for a lot of folks.”She looks forward to experiencing the new Sprankle's Neighborhood Market this summer.“I think they'll be glad that they're here in our community,” said Brown, who has lived in the borough with her husband, Bob, since 1980. “Sprankle's, I think, will be a really good fit for us here in town.”Rich Foust, who has lived in Saxonburg since 1955, said it has been a long two years without a grocery store.“I kept watching and waiting,” Foust said. “Everybody in town was saying, 'When are they going to open that store?'”Foust said he is glad a community market, and not a big-box chain, is opening at the former Friedman's.“Everyone is going to be pleased,” he said. “I would say to people, 'Make sure you go there and do your business here in town.'”Mary Papik, Saxonburg borough manager, said she is ecstatic that the grocery store will open on a personal level and for the residents of the borough who can now shop for food in town.“It will be wonderful for the citizens of Saxonburg to have something that is close and that has fresh produce and variety,” Papik said.She said Sprankle has been a joy to work with in opening the store.“Doug has been just really great all along,” Papik said. “He seems to have such an outstanding character.”She said Sprankle called her earlier in the week just after he filed the necessary paperwork at the county courthouse.“He said 'Mary, the paperwork is done and it's mine,'” Papik recalled. “He was so excited.”Sprankle said the entire family is anxious to complete work at the store and meet the people of Saxonburg.
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