Lucy Spence, owner of the Convenient Food Mart at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Lovers Lane, points to food in the store’s hot bar. Spence has remodeled the store and now offers a variety of fresh baked and prepared foods. The store now also has a gasoline station that features Sunoco fuels. —Dave Gossett

STEUBENVILLE –The new owner of the Convenient Food Mart at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Lovers Lane has created an entirely new look for the business, based in part on her career working with Kaufmann’s Department Stores.

It is nearing lunch time and the women behind the hot bar and deli area are busy providing customers with a sample of something new in the display case and preparing a fresh sandwich from scratch.

Owner Lucy Spence is checking the pasta that is cooking in two large pots on the stove while answering customer questions and juggling phone calls in between.

After a 38-year career in management at area Kaufmann’s stores, Spence was talked into buying the Convenient store that had been closed and has turned the location into a place where customers now shop for wine, homemade foods and, of course, state lottery tickets as well as gas.

“My career in retail could not have been more successful. I started as a buyer for Horne’s right out of college and then moved to Kauffmann’s, where I was a store manager. But when Macy’s bought the May Co., which then owned Kaufmann’s, I initially left that business and was then hired by a former Kaufmann boss to open a new Kohl’s store in Wheeling,” said Spence.

“My brother-in-law, Greg DeSantis, owns the Convenient Food Mart franchise in the area and he started talking with me about buying this store from my brother, Johnny DiCarlantonio. The store had sat empty for two years, but because of the location Greg felt we could remodel the store and re-open it. So when I decided to re-open the store it was with my vision in mind,” Spence related.

“Every customer who walks in our doors is impressed with our new look because we have a beautiful store that has something for everyone. The hot bar offers a variety of food and sandwiches from early in the morning when we have regular customers coming in for breakfast to lunch time and dinner. We offer incredible homemade food and a variety of great, made-to-order sandwiches. And, in the deli we have everything from the traditional chip-chop ham to prosciutto to a selection of cheeses. Our sliders are a work of art. We create a sandwich you can’t get anywhere else in Steubenville or Pittsburgh,” Spence said.

“We cut our own meat and grind it every day for meatballs and sausage. Everything is fresh. Our sauce is made by my Aunt Phil. She handles all of the sauces and our wedding soup. My cousin, Tommy, makes our sausage and handles our butcher work,” Spence said.

“The food is the most successful part of our operation. But we have also added a beautiful wine section and we have great baked goods for sale. And, of course, we have recently added our Sunoco gas pumps where the gas station once stood on the corner,” she noted.

“I basically ran out of time last fall with the installation of the gas pump area. But once spring returns we will be doing more renovations on the exterior of our store as well as paving the parking lot,” Spence commented.

“I was born in Italy but have lived in Steubenville since I was a small child. I have always loved this town. This is a community where the people are incredible and they work hard.

“After I left the Kohl’s store, I wanted to do something in Steubenville for the people of Steubenville that I could be proud of for myself,” explained Spence.

“I felt this corner of the city needed some attention. So when I had the opportunity to do this I did it for myself and my family so people could stop at the store and see something very nice. I always felt Steubenville deserved the best and that is what we are working to offer our friends and neighbors. I love what I am doing here just as much as I loved my retail career,” Spence said.

It was a major life change for Spence, who had managed the Kaufmann’s store at the Fort Steuben Mall before moving to the downtown Pittsburgh Kaufmann’s store and then the Robinson and finally to the Kaufmann’s at South Hills Village.

“I was driving 100 miles a day to work and back home. But it was something I really enjoyed. I learned a lot working at Kaufmann’s and have brought that experience to my own store,” she pointed out.

Today, Spence often works seven days a week, starting at 5 a.m. and continuing until 7:30 p.m.

“I don’t have much of a social life. I work, go home, get up and do it all over again. But it has been worth it. I really enjoy this store and the people who work here and the people who stop in. I really believe if you are passionate about something you can make a difference in your life and the lives of others. I am proud to say just about everyone who started working here with me is still here, and they tell me this is a good place to work,” stated Spence.

“My job is not just to run this store, but to make sure the employees have a great place to work. I set the example and, in turn, the employees welcome the customers into the store. I have found the people who work here make my job a lot easier, and I want to thank Brittany Wiggins, Laura Schall, Angel Rice, Jo Jo Mort, Linda Agresta, Lexi Mastroianni, Taylor Bednar, Lisa Ostrowski and Natalie Walker for everything they do to make the store so successful,” Spence said with a smile.

“I am always looking for new ideas and ways we can do things better. I am meeting new people all the time who come in the store. I did all of this because I want people to have something special in Steubenville. I admit I can be a workaholic. I took my vision and put it in place. Now I want to add to that vision and make our store even better,” stated Spence.

(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)