Save A Lot store to offer low-cost items

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The store will fill most of the vacancy left by Pat
Catan's Craft Center.

By LAURE CIOFFI

VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU

SHARON, Pa. — Bargain shoppers will have a new place to get groceries.

Nemenz Save A Lot is opening a new store Wednesday in the City Centre Plaza off Connelly Boulevard.

Mayor Bob Lucas says this the first full-service grocery store in downtown Sharon in about 20 years.

Owner Henry Nemenz Sr. said he felt Sharon was a good place to expand his business and offer lower-cost items to people living on low-to-moderate incomes.

"I really feel we are going to do a service by helping cost-conscious shoppers stretch their food dollars," said Nemenz, whose business is based in Poland. Nemenz owns eight other Save A Lot stores and five IGA stores.

The Sharon Save A Lot is set to open with giveaways and sales, he said. Store hours will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Vacancy in the plaza

The store will fill a vacancy in the plaza, left when Pat Catan's Craft Center closed and moved its operations to Hermitage.

Nemenz said they are not taking the entire space left by Pat Catan's, but the Save A Lot store will encompass about 20,000 square feet.

He described it as a "limited assortment" store containing about 3,000 items. There are 1,300 to 1,400 Save A Lot stores nationwide.

"We hang our hat on bringing food to people at 40 percent less than a commercial store," he said.

Nemenz notes that the store does carry national brand-name food and offers fresh-cut meat daily.

Nemenz said he decided to open a Save A Lot here because the demographics of the area indicated it would do well. The store has hired 30 employees, with 10 of them working full time, he said.

The store was originally scheduled to open a few months ago but was delayed because the building owner was constructing a dividing wall and separating utilities for the portion of the building not being used by the grocery store, Nemenz added.

cioffi@vindy.com

Sunday, July 29, 2007