by Bea Peterson
Sheila and Michael Duncan of Brunswick are a bundle of energy and are gifted at turning dreams into reality. Besides spending time at school events for their six children, ages 14, 12, 11, 10 and twins 7, they buy homes, renovate and sell them and operate three Sunoco convenience stores. They have one in Cohoes they purchased 10 years ago and another on Wolf Road in Albany they purchased a short time later. They recently closed a leased store in Brunswick to purchase, on February 4,
and re-open, two weeks ago, the long closed store/station in Hoosick. Before opening the Hoosick site they replaced oil tanks, pumps, fascia boards and installed a huge new sign. “The other two stores are bigger, and we do our own food service there,” said Sheila, adding that they are very pleased to have Dunkin Donuts as a fixture in their Hoosick facility. She also noted that Sunoco is a great company to work for. And they are part of the Price Chopper fuel discount program.
Sheila grew up in Pittstown, and she said she feels a part of the Hoosick family. “We love the area, and the people are so kind,” she said. “I look forward to the new relationships we will make and in keeping a well stocked store for our customers.” The couple want to create a country store atmosphere so that folks will feel comfortable coming in and spending time talking with one another before they leave.
“Michael and I love the business, and we are always looking for new opportunities,” said Sheila. “We have very high standards,” she added. They feel they have a prime piece of property, and they want to utilize it. On Monday they will appear before the Hoosick Planning Board to see about putting a Subway franchise in the structure that was never completed as a car wash. “Once Rifenburg moves out its equipment from the bridge construction, Sheila is looking forward to doing some landscaping. She will be putting out picnic tables to give the property a “rest area feeling for travelers to stop for lunch.”
Once they have a liquor license to sell beer in the store they will hold an official Grand Opening. Hours are 5 am to 11 pm Sunday through Thursday and 5 am to midnight Friday and Saturday.