The Lehigh Valley this summer will be gaining another Advance Auto Parts store.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based auto parts chain plans to a grand opening Aug. 4 at the Shoppes at Hellertown, Main Street and Polk Valley Road. The store is moving into a 7,500-square-foot space previously occupied by National Auto. That business closed in April.
Reid Williams, an Advance Auto Parts spokesman, told lehighvalleylive.com Thursday the store plans to offer a variety of free services, including wiper installation; charging system testing and battery installation; and “check engine light” assistance. Stores typically include a wide range of auto parts, such as car batteries; brake pads; oil and fluids; rotors and drums; and alternators; as well as accessories, cleaners and polishes.
The Hellertown location plans to hire a total of 10 part-time and full-time workers, with a big focus on night and weekend support, Williams said.
“We are expecting to have the location fully staffed by mid-July,” he said.
All positions can be found here. Williams didn’t have information on starting salary ranges but described the compensation packages as “competitive.”
Advance Auto Parts operates nearly 5,000 stores nationally and in Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, making it one of the largest chains in the industry. There are at least a dozen other regional locations, including in the Bethlehem area; Palmer Township; Nazareth; Wind Gap; multiple Lehigh County stores in Emmaus, Whitehall and the Allentown area; and another four in Warren County, including the Phillipsburg area.
Advance Auto Parts will be the latest addition to the shopping center, which also plans to celebrate the grand opening of a Starbucks with drive-thru on Friday. The Starbucks fills a space left behind by a Bank of America.
The shopping center has several other empty storefronts amid the coronavirus pandemic. There is a total of 13,200 square feet available for leasing, said Ayon Codner, the shopping center’s leasing agent with Keller Williams Real Estate.
Codner said other vacancies include Spring Hill Cleaners, which closed in August 2020; T-Mobile, which closed in February 2019; and Yo-Fresh Yogurt Cafe, which closed in November 2016. A retail space that once housed a martial arts studio additionally has been vacant for years, and The Tower Health Urgent Care facility, initially was “temporarily closed” at the start of the coronavirus pandemic but has since shuttered permanently, he said.
Advanced Auto Parts plans to open in August 2022 at the shopping center, Main Street and Polk Valley Road.
Advance Auto Parts and Starbucks join about a dozen other existing tenants. These include DiMaio’s Italian Ristorante and Pizzeria; Dollar General; Super Nails; Dolce Patisserie; H&R Block; Hellertown Diner; True Value Hardware; Quest Diagnostics; and a Chinese food restaurant.
Hours of Advance Auto Parts will be from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at [email protected].
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