MILTON — The NAPA Auto Parts Store on Rowland St in Milton celebrated its grand opening on Friday, with an appearance by NASCAR star Chase Elliott.
Elliott greeted fans, signing autographs and taking photos with the long line of people who waited throughout the day for a chance to meet the driver. Elliott has been voted NASCAR’s most popular driver five times.
Food and beverages were served by a food truck from Sarchioto’s Concessions, and the celebration featured a Formula 1 racing simulator, a bounce house, and more. NAPA Store owner Jeff Shorr said the celebration was “great.”
“It’s a big deal for us,” said Shorr. “The weather cooperated, and a lot of our vendors and customers all came to celebrate it with us. It was a pretty cool day.”
The store also celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony featuring numerous local officials, including Town of Milton Supervisor Scott Ostrander, Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus, and New York State Senator Jim Tedisco.
“I’m happy to be a part of the Town of Milton, I’m happy to be in Saratoga County, and I’m hoping that this is just the tip of the iceberg for what we’ve got going on,” Shorr said to those in attendance prior to the ribbon cutting.
Shorr said the response from the local community was “tremendous” for the store’s opening celebration.
“It means the people in this community are excited to have us,” Shorr said. “They’ve expressed that. Many of the elected officials came out today, and all the stakeholders for the project. It makes me feel welcome, and like it’s where I want to be for a long time.”
Shorr said the store has doubled its retail business since moving from its prior location on Milton Ave in Ballston Spa. He also said that the Milton location is the first of NAPA’s new ‘large-format’ stores.
“So there’s a lot of features in this location that we don’t have anywhere else,” said Shorr, naming a large Milwaukee display and two show garages as examples.
Town of Milton supervisor Scott Ostrander said the NAPA store can be an economic benefit in the town and made note of the large-format nature of the store.
“That’s impressive,” said Ostrander. “And it’s in our town, so what more can I say?”
