Dandy Mini Marts will try to keep the Piollet house, an historical landmark, standing

BY JAMES LOEWENSTEIN (Staff Writer)
Published: July 20, 2011

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Photo: N/A, License: N/A, Created: 2011:07:19 18:21:44

Review Photo/JAMES LOEWENSTEIN A Dandy Mini Mart opened last week in this building in Wysox.

WYSOX - The owner of Dandy Mini Marts Inc. said the company will try to preserve the Piollet house, an historical landmark in Wysox in which the latest Dandy Mini Mart opened last week.

"It's certainly our goal for (the building) to remain standing," said Randy Williams, owner of Dandy Mini Marts Inc.

The company has hired Larson Design Group, an architectural and engineering firm based in Williamsport, to do a study of the structural integrity of the building, he said.

He said he is interested in making renovations and other improvements to the building, if Larson Design determines the building to be structurally sound.

For example, he said he wanted to reconstruct the cupola that the building had at one time, using old photographs of the structure as a guide to how it should look.

As had been the case in the past, light entering the cupola windows would pass through an open rotunda-like area in the center of the building to light the interior of the building, he said.

He said he has some other "fun" ideas for further developing the building, saying, "We hope to make it much more" than just a Dandy Mini Mart.

However, he declined to discuss those ideas at this time.

If the renovations of the building go forward, they would result in modern-looking areas in the interior of the building while preserving the historical look of the exterior of the building as much as possible, he said.

The previous owners of the building, Richard and Kathy Buice, completed the sale of the building to the current owners, Piollet House LLC, on July 11, Williams said.

Dandy Mini Marts Inc. is leasing the building from Piollet House LLC, he said.

He said that Dandy Mini Marts has retained "all the products and offerings" that the Wysox General Store had, but has added $35,000 to $40,000 in inventory at the store.

New shelving is also being installed in the store, he said.

Wysox Chamber of Commerce member Stewart Rosengrant said he thinks the Piollet house was one of the first buildings constructed in Wysox.

Williams said he has been involved in restoring historical structures in the past, and that, based on an initial walk-through that he did of the Piollet house, "It looks like it is salvageable."

But, he said, "I'm not an engineer."

The building is "in ill repair" and it would take a major effort to re-build it, he said.

He said "due diligence" needs to be done through the study by Larson Design before further funds are invested in the building.

"It (the building) is a magnificent facility," he said. "It belongs there."

James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or e-mail: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com.

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