SHELBY — The city of Shelby is about to be running on Dunkin’.
City officials have been in contact with Mickey Mart representatives, who are planning to break ground this spring for the construction of a gas station with a built-in Dunkin’ Donuts franchise.
Shelby Mayor Steve Schag publicly announced the news during his State of the City address at Shelby City Council on Feb. 6.
The site of the new business will be the former Skarl Motors Inc., located at 191 State Route 39 in Shelby.
Jessica Gribben, Economic Development Manager to the city of Shelby and Northern Richland County, said the arrival of a new business in Shelby was “very significant.”
“State Route 39 has long been our national chain retail corridor, with car dealerships and fast foods, and it is the gateway into our city. It’s the first thing you see when you hit Shelby,” Gribben said.
“Any new business in town generates some excitement, and there aren’t that many Dunkin’ Donuts in Richland County,” she said. “It’s super popular and to have that same kind of energy in Shelby is great. When we attract a national chain it’s super exciting.”
Site Plans for Shelby Mickey Mart
According to the Richland County Auditor, in August 2022 the Skarl property was sold for $550,000 to its new owner, DC Northwest LLC. The current Kurt Skarl Motors Inc. building on Mansfield Avenue was built in 1974, and the business marked its 50th anniversary in 2017; the original Skarl dealership opened in 1967 on South Gamble Street.
Gribben said she had previously been in talks with owner Kurt Skarl, who was done with the business and ready to sell the property. Unfortunately, Skarl passed away in January 2022 before any sale was made final.
“It’s a prime piece of real estate in front of the college and amidst all the traffic, so we talked about how best to market it and I suggested he work with a real estate agent to find the best tenant for that property,” Gribben said.
“This opportunity came along and it was a great deal for the property owner to transition and move on, and to have a great tenant at that location — a gas station that will be a little bigger, easy in-and-out, and of course Dunkin’ Donuts.”
Shelby Project Manager Joe Gies said the new Mickey Mart building will be located where the current Skarl building sits, with gas pumps on the front and the side, and the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru around the back of the building. There will also be an exit onto Lamplighter Lane.
The new property owners, DC Northwest LLC, also own a second location in Shelby at 116 W. Main Street — another gas station, one of four total stations currently in Shelby. Gies said the plan is for both Mickey Marts in Shelby to be maintained.
According to its website, along with fuel and quick-serve food items, many Mickey Mart’s also feature Mickey’s Chicken & Deli, Taco Bell, Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts franchises. Mickey Mart features either BP or Amoco gasoline products at its locations.
Until the new location opens, the closest Dunkin’ Donuts location to Shelby is 17 miles south in Bellville — a nearly identical model. That Dunkin’ is also connected to a Mickey Mart gas station owned by the same company.
According to its website, there are more than 8,500 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in 41 states across the United States. Dunkin’ offers more than 50 varieties of donuts and dozens of premium beverages, bagels, breakfast sandwiches and other baked goods.
Gies said the city has not received many details on the new business other than the basic site plan.
“They’ve basically just submitted their plans for pre-approval to see if there were any issues, make sure the water and sewer and storm is where they thought it was, and so forth,” he said. “Basically just approve the concept, then they’ll submit and we’ll go through the whole process.”
The next steps, Gies said, are submittal of the formal building plan for approval in Shelby before taking the plan to the Richland County building department for building permits.
If all goes to plan, Gribben said Mickey Mart will be breaking ground this spring at the same time as another business further north on Mansfield Avenue — the new Black Fork Brewing company.
In the meantime, there is no shortage of coffee options in the city of Shelby. The Ivory Bean Coffee House and The Well Coffee Shop are both open for business on Main Street.
