GREENFIELD — The White family missed the retail world. So it decided to get back into the business in a unique way.
Pride Investment Partners has started construction on Leo’s Market & Eatery, a store concept that will be part market, part restaurant and part gas station, said Stephanie White-Longworth, partner and president of the Greenfield-based firm. Construction is well under way on the store at the corner of Meridian Road and U.S. 40. Pride Investment hopes to open the store by April.
White-Longworth and her brother, Keith White, are the former principals of GasAmerica Services, the gas-station chain the family sold to Speedway in 2012. Currently, Pride Investment Partners is connected to several commercial ventures in the area, including Melody Plaza, where the new Buffalo Wild Wings is located.
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After selling GasAmerica to Speedway, the White family was under a non-compete clause, which is now expired, White-Longworth said.
Now, it’s exciting to see the construction under way, right down the road from their offices, Keith White said. They’re eager to get started on what they’re describing as a prototype business, one of the first of its kind in Greenfield, he said.
“It’s definitely not a traditional convenience store,” he said. “We call it a market-eatery that just happens to have gas out front. It will be a very upscale, modern building.”
Leo’s will have dedicated space for fresh goods, an eatery and outdoor patio seating, along with a few gas pumps, Keith White said. Their aim is to blur the lines between a grocery, convenience store and restaurant, he said. The concept is their way of jumping feet-first back into the retail world, he said.
“We missed it,” Keith White said. “Stephanie and I are still young, but we’ve been in the retail business our whole life. Now, we have the opportunity to start up at this great location right down the street from our office.”
GasAmerica was in its fourth generation of family ownership before selling to Speedway. The name of the business honors their late father, Richard Leo White.
The Greenfield-based chain was in business from 1916-2012, and now the White family is eager to see what they’ll be able to do with their newest project for many years to come, she said.
“Our family has actively been involved in Hancock County for generations and generations,” White-Longworth said. “We’re big believers in giving where you live and growing where you live. Being around our friends and family, we’re really looking to enhance the community.”
