Proposal To Build New Travel Plaza Next To Sperr Memorial Park

[JustAGuy 12]

But would it really benefit us? I'm still curious what 50 permanent jobs they would have filled with this operation. 

[KarenK 383]

3 hours ago, JustAGuy said:

What about that old dead plaza that had Ames. Didn't it also have a drug store called pharmhouse? Another lot just sitting there and dead. Looking like an eye sore. 

No.  Pharmhouse was further towards Elmira.  I believe in the same plaza BigLots is in right now.

They need easy on/easy off access to the highway.  It's a Travel Plaza that has a store, restaurant, restroom and shower facilities, overnight truck parking.

[Chris 2,161]

Hills plaza that I previously referred to is what they turned into an Ames, then vacant lot. It also was the location for P&C, Pickway Shoes and I think an Olan Mills photography studio.  Pharmhouse was in the old Nichols plaza, where Seneca Beverage or whatever it's called now currently is. 

[JustAGuy 12]

On 7/25/2023 at 7:27 AM, Chris said:

Hills plaza that I previously referred to is what they turned into an Ames, then vacant lot. It also was the location for P&C, Pickway Shoes and I think an Olan Mills photography studio.  Pharmhouse was in the old Nichols plaza, where Seneca Beverage or whatever it's called now currently is. 

That still exists? I thought that company sold out to someone from the capital region or maybe the Adirondack area if I recall. Somewhere out there. Interesting figured the operation would be closed then. 

[JustAGuy 12]

On 7/25/2023 at 5:40 AM, KarenK said:

No.  Pharmhouse was further towards Elmira.  I believe in the same plaza BigLots is in right now.

They need easy on/easy off access to the highway.  It's a Travel Plaza that has a store, restaurant, restroom and shower facilities, overnight truck parking.

Hard to think they would create 50 permanent jobs with that. Yu need what maybe a couple of people for a store. A couple of stockers and cashiers(a store like this is obviously going to be nothing more than a convenience gas station like store) a restaurant....you obviously need servers and maybe busers(I guess that would really be up to the owner and operation being run) obviously you would need a manager of some kind but 50 total jobs seems like a complete joke and overreach and just something that they would use as a selling point. 20 employees total might even be too many if I had to really guess. 

[Chris 2,161]

8 hours ago, JustAGuy said:

That still exists? I thought that company sold out to someone from the capital region or maybe the Adirondack area if I recall. Somewhere out there. Interesting figured the operation would be closed then. 

That's why I added, "whatever it's called now". It's no longer Seneca Beverage.

[Hal 341]

11 hours ago, JustAGuy said:

Hard to think they would create 50 permanent jobs with that. Yu need what maybe a couple of people for a store. A couple of stockers and cashiers(a store like this is obviously going to be nothing more than a convenience gas station like store) a restaurant....you obviously need servers and maybe busers(I guess that would really be up to the owner and operation being run) obviously you would need a manager of some kind but 50 total jobs seems like a complete joke and overreach and just something that they would use as a selling point. 20 employees total might even be too many if I had to really guess. 

Realistically your employee count is on the money . But even more realistic is the sad fact is that there would be more , lets call them “ social employees “ involved here . 
Just keeping it real here folks … we all know it happens . And I believe this is a major part of the reason for public pushbacks . 

[MsKreed 1,179]

At any given time I’ve visited a Dandy Mart, they have 4-6 visible employees (2 or 3 cashiering and 2-3 making pizzas and subs.

Most are closed overnights and probably have 25-30 total employees covering days/evenings.....If you figure operating 16hrs x 7 days x 5 front end employees:  That’s 560 man hours, which is 14 employees at 40hrs, or (more likely 18 employees averaging around 30 hrs each). Plus whatever management and office staff we don’t see.  

A Truck plaza (like Pilot or Love’s at the Bath Kanona exit) runs around the clock. They aren’t just open overnight, it is often their busiest time of day when OTR truckers are on the move with less passenger car traffic in their way. They also have a lot more services than the Dandy cashiers and line cooks.

Besides lounge and shower facilities, full service truck plazas, like Loves, have tractor trailer repair with mechanics on site. Some even dispatch mobile roadside services within a certain area.

 

So I can realistically see a full service Truck Plaza “Travel Center” employing 50 people. But that number wouldn’t have any measurable impact on the local economy or employment situation. Even at its best, 50 jobs is less than one tenth of one percent of the county's 84,000 population (0.0595238095%).

But the true number would be even less than that since a large portion of those jobs will simply be shifted from existing business that will lose revenue (and employees) to the new Plaza. Just like we saw reduced business (and jobs) at existing locations like GCP and the Miracle Mile when Consumer Square and Walmart Plaza opened.

[JustAGuy 12]

2 hours ago, MsKreed said:

At any given time I’ve visited a Dandy Mart, they have 4-6 visible employees (2 or 3 cashiering and 2-3 making pizzas and subs.

Most are closed overnights and probably have 25-30 total employees covering days/evenings.....If you figure operating 16hrs x 7 days x 5 front end employees:  That’s 560 man hours, which is 14 employees at 40hrs, or (more likely 18 employees averaging around 30 hrs each). Plus whatever management and office staff we don’t see.  

A Truck plaza (like Pilot or Love’s at the Bath Kanona exit) runs around the clock. They aren’t just open overnight, it is often their busiest time of day when OTR truckers are on the move with less passenger car traffic in their way. They also have a lot more services than the Dandy cashiers and line cooks.

Besides lounge and shower facilities, full service truck plazas, like Loves, have tractor trailer repair with mechanics on site. Some even dispatch mobile roadside services within a certain area.

 

So I can realistically see a full service Truck Plaza “Travel Center” employing 50 people. But that number wouldn’t have any measurable impact on the local economy or employment situation. Even at its best, 50 jobs is less than one tenth of one percent of the county's 84,000 population (0.0595238095%).

But the true number would be even less than that since a large portion of those jobs will simply be shifted from existing business that will lose revenue (and employees) to the new Plaza. Just like we saw reduced business (and jobs) at existing locations like GCP and the Miracle Mile when Consumer Square and Walmart Plaza opened.

You have a point, I forgot about the food aspect of the operation. I guess they all make pizzas, hot dogs and sandwiches these days. More than not though the toyal number of employees would go to people you'll never see like management. It still doesn't seem like an amazing investment for we the people. 

I have been to that Pilot. But one thing it really has going for it is it is a gas station. I saw no mention of there being a gas station here unless I simply just over read it. With the Pilot being a gas station you get the foot traffic for people stopping for gas. If there is no gas station here you will not get the average Joe driver just stopping in I would think.