Raceway readies store No. 3

Two out of the three new area Raceway stores are open for business, and company officials said an operator has been selected to run the third.

"We have really been lucky that we have found a good group of contract operators that are very interested in running our convenience stores," said Vincent Donroe-Wells, director of sales and Marketing for Raceway.

Locations at 405 Signal Mountiain Road and 5455 Hixson Pike have been open a few weeks, and officials said a third location, 459 Amnicola Highway, will open soon.

Lisa Merriman, 46, pumped gas Monday at the Hixson Pike location. She said she likes the store because it is clean and new and on her way to work.

"It's just real convenient to stop in when I'm on my way home," she said.

She also said Monday's gas prices of $2.38 a gallon are some of the cheapest around.

Alex Gilana, a manager at the Hixson Pike store, said business has been booming since he opened Nov. 20.

"It's been great," he said. "We have gotten a really good response from our customers."

Muhammad Imran, manager of the Signal Mountain Road location, said business has been steady, but he hopes it improves.

"It's a brand new business and it is going to take some time," he said. "A lot of people may not know we have opened yet."

Construction is complete at the Amnicola location, but the store has not been stocked.

Raceway built the three locations and then began looking for contract operators to invest between $150,000 and $300,000 to begin operating the stores.

Raceway officials have declined to release specifics about the cost of the expansion, but the investment doubles Raceway's presence in the area.