In what some retailers are finding to be a sour economy, things are looking pretty sweet for Gardners Candies. The 105- year-old Tyrone candy company has just opened a new store in Altoona\u2019s Logan Valley Mall.
\nThis follows on the heels of recently renovating its super store and ice cream parlor in the Altoona Wal-Mart Plaza, which remains Gardners\u2019 number one selling retail store out of all its stores.
\nThe new Logan Valley Mall store is currently Gardner\u2019s third in Blair County, and its opening has created between 10 and 15 new jobs. The other two locations include the Tyrone-based store and the Plank Road establishment.
\nGardners president Sam Phillips says, \u201cthe expansion reflects the tremendous growth the company has experienced in the county over the last five years and our commitment to the area. Between the plant and retail store in Tyrone and the two stores in Altoona, we employ full-time over 100 people locally,\u201d Phillips added.
\n\u201cGardners is excited about our opening of the new store and we are committed to the growth and we are optimistic in terms of the growth of business in Blair County,\u201d stated Phillips.
\nHe added, \u201cWe feel very strongly that the market for the Logan Valley Mall, which is the largest mall between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, will sustain the store.\u201d
\nGardners Candies was one of the first charter stores in the Logan Valley Mall in 1976, but it plans on embracing the mall\u2019s inviting opportunities for retail sales once again.
\nLogan Valley Mall Manager Lou Kanzleiter stated that Gardners Candies return to the mall is very positive for the center because it adds an additional use to the mall that it didn\u2019t have previously. It adds more of a variety of stores for its customers.
\n\u201cNow that they have been out of the store for a number of years, Gardners recognized that it is a good opportunity for it to have that exposure,\u201d said Kanzleiter.
\nHe added, \u201cI think the benefit for Gardners is the fact that it gives the company additional exposure to a wider range of customers that the mall attracts that it may not necessarily have at other locations.\u201d
\nPhillips agreed the new mall store will attract a larger number of customers.
\n\u201cWe know that there are many regional shoppers who shop at the Logan Valley Mall, and we hope to reach those customers,\u201d added Phillips.
\nGardners Candies is always on the lookout for new locations for its retail shops, however, there are no particular plans for any locations at this time.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve hired more people and we\u2019re growing and looking for great growth in the future,\u201d stated Phillips.
\nGardners Candies was founded by \u2018Pike\u2019 Gardner in 1897 and is owned by Sarris Candies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In what some retailers are finding to be a sour economy, things are looking pretty sweet for Gardners Candies. The 105- year-old Tyrone candy company has just opened a new store in Altoona\u2019s Logan Valley Mall. This follows on the heels of recently renovating its super store and ice cream parlor in the Altoona Wal-Mart […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47721\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}