BATTLEFORD ‑‑ The long-awaited second location of Oil Can Charlie’s in Battleford is open for business.
They opened this week at their newest location at Fifth Avenue and Battleford Crossing in the Battleford West subdivision.
It is the culmination of months of planning and construction for proprietor Jay Bottomley and his partners Keegan Sparrow and Sheldon Rafuse with BSR Ventures Ltd.
The Battleford location opened to customers with a “soft-launch” Monday, “making sure everything runs smoothly,” said Bottomley. He said a more official grand opening will likely happen in April or May, when they might have a barbecue for customers and have some supply representatives show up.
This is the second location for Oil Can Charlie’s in the Battlefords, which still runs its original location at Highway 4 North in North Battleford alongside the Betty Bubbs car wash.
Construction started on the new Battleford location last August, at a cost estimated around $800,000.
The “construction went really well. It was super smooth from start to finish,” said Bottomley.
The footprint is the same as for the North Battleford location. The downstairs is identical, with bulk tanks and a washer-drier for the employee’s uniforms. The main difference is this structure is built with insulated concrete forms, making for a well-insulated building.
Another thing they wanted to do, Bottomley said, was dress up the new location to fit in with the Battleford Crossing area.
“We’ve had numerous compliments on how it looks,” said Bottomley.
The business is the latest in a long line of developments in Battleford West, an area that only a few short years ago was an empty field west of the town.
Now, the commercial area just to the west of Highway 4 South and south of 29th Street includes a Co-op Gas Bar, a Tim Hortons, and a strip mall that includes a pizza place, liquor store and cannabis outlet.
Bottomley expects business at his new location to be good, given the amount of activity there.
“It’s a busy little area,” said Bottomley. “On Thursday and Friday afternoons, you can’t find a parking spot anywhere around here, it’s nuts. And it’s kind of a one-stop place now. You’ve got coffee, pizza, beer, gas, oil change, what more could you want?”
He also points to the location as convenient to those coming through to the Battlefords.
“Highway 4 South is so busy,” said Bottomley. “It’s actually got a higher car count here than Highway 4 North by my North Battleford location. So yeah, if we can grab those customers that are coming through from Biggar, Wilkie, Unity, Cut Knife, Sweetgrass, Red Pheasant, Mosquito, Poundmaker, they’re all coming through here to do their shopping. So, it’s a big draw and if we can make this more of a draw for them to come into here, then great.”
This first week, business has been a little slow as they are just starting to get the word out that they are finally open. Bottomley said this week they have been blitzing the media and social media to let people know.
There are five employees working out of the Battleford location and five at their North Battleford location. Bottomley said their new hires came on board in December and started in North Battleford, so that when the Battleford location opened they would have “no green staff” — that everyone would be ready to go and know what they’re doing when Battleford opened.
As for the future, Bottomley and his partners are looking at possibly building a strip mall on the property in the next couple of years. They also plan to put up a digital billboard on the property in the near future, and they have been told they will be getting that sign within the next four weeks.
Bottomley repeated his praise for Battleford town officials for welcoming the venture and making it a smooth process.
“The town has been super-welcoming,” said Bottomley, noting several councillors have dropped by to see how it has come along.
“The mayor, Ames Leslie, has been awesome, he’s stopped by here numerous times since we’ve started.”
“It’s nice to feel welcomed. They’re really happy that we’re here and that’s a great feeling.”
