WATERVILLE — The College Quik Stop on West River Road will get a new, bigger store building and have new gas pumps by next spring, pending planning and zoning approval.

Owners plan to start digging the foundation for the new store behind the current one Oct. 20 if a site plan is approved at next Monday’s planning board meeting.

The store at the 288 West River Road site near Thomas College originally was a 30-by-40-foot ranch house that had been converted into a store. When the Damons bought it in 2003, they built an addition onto it, owner Rusty Damon said Monday.

The new store will be larger than the current one and a second cash register will be added, he said. The store will be similar to the Damons Quick Stop at what had been the North Augusta Market on Civic Center Drive in Augusta, he said.

When they built the new Augusta store, the old one on the site was closed only about five hours, and that will be the case with this one as well, he said.

“We emptied the old store, and we were operating out of the new store within five hours,” he said.

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The owners, operating as West River Road Enterprises Inc., are seeking approval of a final plan for a 3,600-square-foot convenience store with gas pumps to replace the existing ones at 288 West River Road, according to City Planner Ann Beverage.

“They want to build a new store behind the one that’s there, and as soon as it’s ready to operate, they’ll tear down the one that is there,” Beverage said Monday.

If the board approves the plan, the owners also need a zone change to put a canopy over the gas pumps because the plan doesn’t meet the building setback requirements, Beverage said. That request would be considered at a later date. The Planning Board meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the council chambers Monday, Oct. 19, at The Center downtown.

West River Road Enterprises previously appeared before the board with an informal pre-application review request for the store, she said.

Damon, who also owns six other stores with his brother, Jeff, and their stepmother, Pat Damon, said they plan to start digging the foundation for the new store the day after the Planning Board meeting and get it framed up and closed in so that the interior work can be done over the winter.

Rusty Damon said the new store would ideally open in April and the gas pumps would likely be ready by the weekend of Memorial Day, May 30, if not earlier. He said the gas pumps will be closed down for three to five weeks.

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The Waterville Quik Stop convenience store, located north of Hamlin’s Marine and south of Thomas College, carries groceries and has a deli that features pizzas, sandwiches and other food.

The Damons own not only the Waterville and Augusta stores, but also a second one in Augusta, two in Skowhegan, one in Chelsea and one in Randolph. The family’s first store was the Beverage Mart in Skowhegan.

The family’s most recent rebuild was the former Webb’s Store in Randolph last fall.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @AmyCalder17


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