Story by Morgan Pemberton
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two years after hanging signs that a new Par Mar store was going to be built, a groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday in the vacant lot along MacCorkle Avenue across the Kanawha River from Haddad Riverfront Park.
Par Mar President Brian Waugh said the location was the biggest factor when deciding where to put the new store, located near busy streets lined with traffic.
“Traffic, there is enough traffic in order to be able to cover it on all four sides if you will. No doubt having a red light there in and out of Kanawha City and also going up into south hills and across the South Side Bridge into downtown,” Waugh said.
The newest location will be a convenience store equipped with BP gasoline and an Arby’s restaurant, Waugh said.
“That’s our new prototype, so any new one that we built, we built with a restaurant, were building one now in Mineral Wells right now with an IHOP with it.” Waugh said.
Mayor Amy Goodwin said Par Mar the the most important part about the new store is Par Mar invests in the community.
“While we’ve been standing here, you’ve listened to hundreds of cars and watched them go by. Par Mar has invested in our community, continues to invest in our community because they get a great return, which by the way our residents and our other businesses get a great return,” Goodwin said.
Construction on the new store is expected to start next week and Waugh hopes to get the ball rolling and have construction completed by the end of the year.