Church Avenue Stewart’s Shop Celebration

BALLSTON SPA – The rain could not dampen any spirits on Saturday, July 9, at the celebration of the new Stewart’s Shop in its location at 170 Church Avenue in Ballston Spa where it originally opened over 70 years ago. Between the ice cream contest and other festivities, plenty of memories of the historic location were shared amongst the festive crowd. The inaugural ice cream shop was located at the front of the dairy plant the Dake family purchased from Donald Stewart back in 1945, which is where the Stewart’s name came from. That small store later expanded to a Stewart’s Soup and Sandwich Shop and was updated to a Stewart’s Bread and Butter store after a fire in the 80s. Now the shop has been rebuilt from the ground up in an effort to increase its food service and gas presence, while preserving the dairy, ice cream, coffee and grocery business it was built upon. The larger footprint also improves the flow inside and out. This project is one of 18 other Stewart’s Shops expected to be built this year, either as a brand new location or a replacement of an existing location.