Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Thaler, Anderson
----Source: Thorp Courier, (Thorp, Clark Co., WI) 1/04/2012
Express Mart & Subway (Remodeling - 2011)
This past year was a monumental time for Express Mart gas station and Subway restaurant, undergoing extreme renovations throughout the summer and fall of 2011.
After Steve Thaler, the owner of multiple Express Mart stores around the area, announced that the Thorp branch would be getting a complete overhaul, the community was invited to attend an informational meeting on February 15, where the official plans and tentative construction outline were discussed. Set to kick off early that spring, Express Mart announced that they would be adding more than just additional square feet in both the convenience store and Subway restaurant but would also be adding new services to the area.
The local gas station and restaurant kept their doors open as long as they could as the addition was being built. Once the frame was completed, it came time for the original building to be torn down, pushing back the storefront to be flush with the façade of the Thorpedo restaurant, making room for new parking spaces. On August 14, the local gas station and Subway restaurant closed their doors, preparing for the demolition day on August 17, when the original store was torn down. After the rubble was cleared, the final stages of construction began. Through the next two months, both the interior and exterior of Express Mart and Subway received the finishing touches, and on November 7, the doors were officially reopened to the public, where they saw many new additions to the local gas station and restaurant, which included the square footing doubling in the Subway restaurant for the purposes of adding more eating area, going from seating for 12 to 36. Within the new sales floor of the Express Mart, there was also an introduction of a new food prep area, stocked with Piccadilly Pizza merchandise. Also being added to the store’s services is a small fishing bait and tackle area, walk-in [beer cave] coolers, ice cream, a one-bay soft-touch car wash, and a Laundromat, which houses many new coin-operated machines.
Located on the north side, the Laundromat has its own entryway and parking area for convenience. Along the south side of the building, patrons can find an entrance for the soft-touch carwash, leaving cars to exit through the north-facing door. Express Mart’s gas pumps are still located in the same area, but now include an additional pump installed for off-road diesel. Express Mart also now sells kerosene and Clear 87. The entire renovation project was polished off by fresh blacktop on the entire parking area.
Since reopening, store manager Pat Anderson has noticed ‘numerous patrons’ positive reactions to the renovations, saying that so many have complimented the staff on the space, layout, and new services.
