By Kris Leonhardt

SPENCER – The new A&W location at 804 S. Pacific Ave., Spencer, saw its first visitors Feb. 10, with a soft opening held by owner Dee Wells.

Wells is the owner of the Withee Mobil Mart, which opened in May 1999.

“It was eight years ago that we added on to our store (in Withee,)” said Wells, “and then we have a Chester’s Chicken there at Withee. It was in March of 2016 that we had converted our mini-dollar store to an A&W there.”

Wells said that she really liked the A&W business and decided to expand to another location.

“We always keep trying new things, and we had in the back of our mind to expand, and we were looking for a location that was close enough that we could run two stores,” she said.

Wells broke ground in September and will open the doors to the public Feb. 12 with a staff of 37.

A ribbon-cutting will be held Feb. 12 at 9:45 a.m. and the business will celebrate its opening all week long.

The Spencer A&W will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. until April, when it will close at 10 p.m. during the summer months.