March 29, 2024

Closed Benny's Stores in East Providence & Seekonk to Re-Open as Dollar General & Ace Hardware

Carpionato Group to Lease Closed Benny's by Springtime

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The three area closed Benny's stores will be opening this Spring if all goes well. The Carpionato Group, LLC will lease the closed East Providence store on Pawtucket Avenue, EP and the Taunton and Central Avenue, Seekonk sites. Carpionato has leased out the properties to Ace Hardware and Dollar General. "Both leases are fully executed and are long term. A general contractor has been awarded the contract to renovate the Seekonk building and subdivide. We have the building permit and work is underway. We anticipate May to June 2019 openings for both stores. When complete the stores will have new facades, interiors, and building systems – to current codes. They will be more energy efficient, fully ADA compliant and ready to provide customers with great shopping experiences. Collectively these two stores will have 30 employees. We are proud to partner with these two great American companies as they invest with us in Seekonk and East Providence," said Kelly Coates, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Carpionato Group.

The former Benny's site in East Providence has been fully leased to Dollar General. "The lease is fully executed. We are in the midst of the permitting process. The current building is in very bad condition and we propose to demolish and build again new if the Council approves. Because of new construction – the lease here is a longer term," added Coates.

"Each of these three locations are local neighborhood in nature and the stores have been selected because they service the immediate population. Dollar General has a very, very strong financial position and can weather any future downturns in the economy. We take a long view of things," said Coates.

Carpionato offered a positive outlook for the Dollar General operation:

"Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for over 75 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at everyday low prices in convenient neighborhood locations. Dollar General operated 15,227 stores in 44 states as of November 2, 2018. In addition to high-quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America's most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg's, General Mills, and PepsiCo."

Fast Facts:

•$23.5 billion in sales in fiscal 2017

•15,227 retail locations as of November 2, 2018

•7,300 square-foot stores

•10,000 - 12,000 total stock keeping units (SKUs) per store from America’s most-trusted manufacturers

•15 distribution centers

•Approximately 135,000 employees

•Ranked #123 on the Fortune 500 list as of May 2018

After 93 years in business, Benny's, the neighborhood store that called itself "everybody's favorite store" went out of business last year. Benny's president, Arnold Bromberg said the decision was inevitable. “The way the numbers added up and the way the future looked to us, the decision was unavoidable,” Bromberg said when the iconic store closed. The Benny's family had reached a level whereby no one wanted to change the company style of not competing with internet shopping. Local residents have lamented the loss of Benny's especially at Christmastime.

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