MARCY — Cliff’s Local Market celebrated the opening of its 21st store in November as it continues the rebranding and relaunch effort it began in 2017.
Cliff’s renovated and rebranded the Washington Mills location at 3931 Oneida St. to align with the new brand Cliff’s Local Market operates in conjunction with Clifford Fuel Co., Inc. The Clifford family owns both companies.
“That location was our last full-service gas station,” Jeff Carpenter, Cliff’s director of education and training, says.
Work included replacing the fuel-storage tanks and pumps, as well as building a new convenience store.
The switch to the Cliff’s brand started in 2017 when the company decided to leave the Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes franchise. The change involved more than just a name, Carpenter says. It also involved renovating each convenience-store location to make it larger and more modern, Cliff’s also expanded the store’s offerings.
“It’s our goal to be recognized locally as the leader in the convenience industry,” says Carpenter. To help achieve that, Cliff’s has expanded its food offerings over the past several years to include breakfast sandwiches, pizzas, subs, wraps, melts, and salads. Cliff’s also offers catering and recently launched an online ordering platform.
“We have a robust made-to-order menu,” Carpenter says. “We do a lot of in-house cutting of our fruits and vegetables” for grab-and-go options. “We bake our own bread daily. It’s very labor intensive, but we believe very strongly in a fresh product.”
In the past year, Cliff’s has also added limited-time offerings such as seasonal flavors and foods, he adds. The business also works with other local producers when it can, such as partnering with Utica Club to make beer cheese and offering Utica Coffee.
With the new stores and new menus, employment has grown at Cliff’s, Carpenter says. “Some of our stores can employ upwards of 40 employees at a time.” Across all 21 store locations, Cliff’s employs more than 400 people.
The reaction from customers has been quite positive, Carpenter says. “We hear great things from our customers about what we are doing.”
He believes being locally based helps connect Cliff’s with customers and the communities it serves.
“We’re based here in Central New York, and we like to be present and responsive to our customers,” Carpenter says. “We’re known as Cliff’s. They’re not going to the gas station. They’re going to Cliff’s.”
The company supports several charities including Kelberman, a Utica nonprofit that serves people with autism. “We sell puzzle pieces in all our stores to raise awareness for autism,” Carpenter says.
Looking ahead, Cliff’s expects to open a 22nd store later this year in the Syracuse area. As of press time, Carpenter could not release any specific information on that next location.
Jack Clifford founded Clifford Fuel Company in Dolgeville in 1961, according to the company’s website. It originally supplied home heating oil, propane, farm gas, and diesel fuel before moving to Marcy in 1966. The company began distributing gasoline, diesel fuel, and lubricants.
In the 1980s, the business began to own and operate its own gas stations and opened its first convenience store in 1982. Today, the third generation of the Clifford family owns and operates the two companies.