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Store manager David Richards strikes a pose.
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The convenience store was filled with blue and green balloons.
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Cumby's swag at the door.
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Employees and managers pose for pics.
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Cowing around.
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Robert Lemaire and Richards with some Cumby's favorites - Milk and Chill Zone.
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The whole crew.

North Adams Cumberland Farms Holds Grand Opening

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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Robert Lemaire cuts the ribbon on the new Cumberland Farms Convenience store on Curran Highway.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Cumberland Farms held its latest grand opening in the Berkshires on Monday afternoon and kicked off a fundraiser for the North Adams Youth Football League.

Robert Lemaire, president of the league, cut the bright green ribbon to officially open the doors on the 4,500 square foot store, which opened for business about a month ago on Curran Highway.

"Cumby's is fundraising for us with 10 cents being given to Youth Football for every drink they sell," Lemaire said.

The fundraiser runs through Nov. 24 at the Curran Highway location only and applies to dispensed drinks — Chill Zone and coffees.

The company typically holds its grand openings in conjunction with a local fundraiser.

The convenience store and its five gas pump stations is the third Cumberland Farms to open in the city; older stores are on Ashland Street and the Mohawk Trail. It employs about dozen people split between part and full time.

The latest addition was built on the site of the former Greenbergs & Sons home improvement store that abruptly closed last year after nearly 40 years at the site. The prominent location at Hodges Cross Road made the property attractive because of its visibility.



Cumberland Farms has been revamping its more than 550 stores since 2008 to offer more space, more choice and more convenience foods; the Curran Highway store is the about the 240th to be redone or built. Both the Williamstown and Dalton stores have been reconstructed.

Blaine Applebee, area sales manager, said the company is looking at options for the two older stores in North Adams. The Ashland Street store is landlocked on a smaller lot making it difficult to expand in size without acquiring nearby properties. The larger Mohawk Trail store has room to grow but Cumberlands is looking at an adjacent property to offer greater sitelines.

"It's all about visibility," he said, noting the Curran Highway location allows motorists plenty of time to see what's ahead. "We don't want them to drive by and say 'oh, was that a Cumberland Farms?' "

The New England company has been making significant investment in its properties and is attempting to get away from the "gas station food" reputation that has long dogged convenience stores. At the new Cumberlands, there is a wide variety of coffees and beverages, grocery items, snacks, baked goods, prepackaged sandwiches and salads, and hot foods such as pizza and hot dogs.

Customers who dropped by during the grand opening event were treated to free beverages and hot food samples, and a cart full of swag — sunglasses, keychains and T-shirts — while a cow and a giant frozen drink entertained the crowd.

Cumberland Farms, headquartered in Framingham, employs more than 6,000 people. It sells enough Chill Zone drinks to fill six Olympic swimming pools every year.


Tags: convenience store,   gas station,   grand opening,   ribbon cutting,   

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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