Battleford will soon be the home of another Oil Can Charlie鈥檚 location.
At their May 17 meeting at Town Hall, Battleford council members heard from Jay Bottomley, owner of Oil Can Charlie鈥檚 in North Battleford, about his plans for the business. Joining him at council was Keegan Sparrow who has partnered up with Bottomley on the project.
Oil Can Charlie鈥檚 already has an oil change and car wash location in North Battleford, and Bottomley explained the intention is to add a second Battlefords location for the oil change store in Battleford West.
It is to be located in the commercial area in proximity to properties such as the Co-op Gas Bar and Sobey鈥檚 Liquor Store. A sign announcing the pending arrival of the business in Battleford has already been put up.
Bottomley told council he had purchased the property from Dean Kupchanko and took possession April 30.
The build will take on several phases. The first phase is for the oil change location, which Bottomley said will be the 鈥渆xact same footprint as the store in North Battleford.鈥�
But it鈥檚 going to be 鈥渄ressed up鈥� with some exposed timber, stone and stucco for the town of Battleford.
Also planned is a digital billboard on the southeast corner of the property - a two-sided digital sign, with the ability to be dimmed down at night to reduce light pollution and also to save power. Mayor Ames Leslie said their current bylaw doesn鈥檛 allow illuminated signs to be lit up at night.
Bottomley indicated the intention is to begin construction on the new location in August and be open for business in November.
The last phase would be a 15-to-20,000 square foot commercial retail unit or strip mall. Bottomley foresees that project not getting started until 2023 or early 2024.
At this point Bottomley is not planning a car wash for the location, though he admitted 鈥渘othing鈥檚 ever out of the question.鈥�
So far, Bottomley said, the reaction to the plans has been positive, with council members expressing enthusiasm for the arrival of the business in the community.
鈥淲e鈥檝e felt more than welcomed by everyone that we鈥檝e spoke to,鈥� Bottomley said.
