Stewart’s Shops buys site of former Grandma’s Pies
COLONIE — The former home of Grandma’s Pies & Restaurant could soon be gone after Stewart’s Shops officially closed on the property at 12731275 Central Ave. Wednesday, according to Albany County records.
Stewart’s Shops first expressed interest in turning the property into a gas station and convenience store more than a year ago, when it submitted documents last February to the town of Colonie. Records show the town zoning board of appeals approved the application following a public hearing in May. The town planning board approved the concept in October. According to the Albany Business Review, which broke the news of the property sale, the site plan still needs final approval.
Founded in 1976, Grandma’s Pies & Restaurant became a local institution, known for having such a high volume of traffic around Thanksgiving that police had to be called. It closed in July 2018 before reopening under new ownership a month later, only to be done in by the COVID-19 pandemic and close permanently in 2020.
Documents show Stewart’s Shops purchased the former restaurant property for $1.1 million Tuesday from HSD Ventures — a Saugerties-based company that bought the former restaurant in December 2021 — according to documents filed Wednesday. In January, it bought an adjacent property containing a parking lot for $350,000 from B&S Albany Campus Group. (while its connection to Bryant & Stratton College next door isn’t entirely clear, the college sold the lot to the LLC in 2020).
The proposed project, located on two parcels making up a 2.41 acre lot, would include a 3,975-square-foot store, a 4,450-square-foot fuel canopy with 12 gas pumps, 50 parking spaces and electric vehicle charging stations. It would employ 15 people and be open daily from 4 a.m. to midnight.
A nearby Indian restaurant and market would remain under its current ownership, town records show.
A Stewart’s Shops representative and the town’s planning and economic development did not returned a call for comment.