Stewart's Shops wants to build a gas station and convenience store at 3566 Route 31 in the town of Clay, putting a new outpost of the upstate New York chain directly across from the recently opened Tully's Tenders. The plan calls for a 4,500-square-foot store with six gas pumps, and it would require tearing down two vacant homes already sitting on the property.
Where the New Store Would Sit
According to syracuse.com, the proposed Stewart's would rise at the corner of Route 31 and Kimbrook Plaza, a stretch of road already anchored by the new Tully's Tenders. Town of Clay Planning Commissioner Brian Bender said the two vacant residences currently on the lot would be torn down to make way for the project.
A real estate listing for the parcel, marketed by Pavia Real Estate, describes it as a redevelopment site sitting in front of Kimbrook Village Square on a busy retail corridor. The listing notes the property has roughly 250 feet of frontage on a signalized intersection and an average daily traffic count of about 26,600 vehicles, underscoring why the corner has drawn interest from a convenience chain looking for visibility and drive-by customers.
Another Stop in a Crowded Local Lineup
If built, the Clay store would join a cluster of Stewart's locations already dotting the Syracuse area, including shops in Marcellus, Baldwinsville, Cicero and another existing Clay location, the outlet reports. Stewart's has been steadily filling in the Onondaga County map for years; the company's sixth location in the county opened at 6190 South Bay Road in Cicero, a $4 million, 4,500-square-foot project, according to a company announcement.
The chain's footprint extends well beyond Onondaga County. Syracuse.com reports that Stewart's operates more than 405 shops across New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, while the company's own announcement of its broader expansion puts the figure at 400 shops across upstate New York, Vermont and western New Hampshire — a discrepancy the two sources don't reconcile.
Part of a Bigger Expansion Push
The Clay proposal lands amid a sweeping investment effort at Stewart's. The company says it is putting $55 million this year into expanding, renovating and rebuilding shops across upstate New York and Vermont, with new construction underway in Sidney, Alexandria Bay and Cohoes, and at least 15 existing shops being remodeled to expand food and beverage offerings. Stewart's is also pouring $30 million into a multiyear expansion of its plant and commercial kitchen in Greenfield, just outside Saratoga Springs, per the company's announcement.
Stewart's Shops President Chad Kiesow framed the spending as a response to shifting customer demand. “There is a growing need for fresh, quality food and beverages, plus our award-winning milk and ice cream,” Kiesow told CSP Daily News. The chain has also been absorbing former Jolley shops acquired in late 2024, rebranding them and adding ice cream counters as part of the same push.
Echoes of a Recent Marcellus Fight
The Clay plan recalls a similar project not far away. In the village of Marcellus, Stewart's finalized a $1.7 million purchase of the former Nojaim Brothers property in July 2024, and village officials approved site plans for a 4,300-square-foot store with an expanded grocery section and six gas pumps split across three islands. That project still needed building permits and state Department of Environmental Conservation approval for the new pumps even after the local site-plan sign-off, illustrating how many steps typically remain after a planning board's initial review. Stewart's described that Marcellus model as one it uses in areas where small independent grocery stores have shut down.
No timeline for construction or opening has been released for the Clay project, and it remains unclear how quickly the town's planning process will move. The Town of Clay Planning Board typically meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 4401 State Route 31, according to the Town of Clay, where future discussion of the proposal would likely take place.
