X

Tru-North Pizza will reopen thanks to community effort to save Flackville store

Posted 8/10/16

By JIMMY LAWTON FLACKVILLE – Tru-North Pizza will soon reopen thanks to a community effort to help restore a longtime family business. The small pizza shop and convenience store on State Highway 68 …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Tru-North Pizza will reopen thanks to community effort to save Flackville store

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON

FLACKVILLE – Tru-North Pizza will soon reopen thanks to a community effort to help restore a longtime family business.

The small pizza shop and convenience store on State Highway 68 in the Town of Lisbon closed its doors following a muddled attempt by owner Scott McKeever to sell the business several years ago. Tax payments on the property fell behind and the shop was set to go in a tax sale if the county wasn’t made whole by Aug. 11.

Fortunately that didn’t happen. Scott, accompanied by his children and grandkids, made the payment to the county treasurer today.

“This is a huge deal for us and it’s good for the county. But for us right now it’s a dream come true,” Ben McKeever, Scott’s oldest son, said.

The store has been family operated for multiple generations. The business also played an active role in the community lending a hand in school pizza sales and other programs.

The senior McKeever said he and his family have been working for months to fix up the store, which had fallen into disrepair. He offered his appreciation to community members who helped him.

“We have a list of people that we need to thank that helped make this happen. We are really grateful,” he said.

Scott McKeever Jr., said the family is looking forward to reopening and is pleased to bring the store back to the community.

“We are really excited,” he said.

Back taxes on the store were around $22,000. Additionally the county had entered into an agreement to remediate the site after low levels of contamination were found on the property. The McKeever’s also had to pick up that tab at a cost of $12,000.

St. Lawrence County Attorney Stephen Button said the news is good for the county and the Town of Lisbon. He said the county always prefers to avoid foreclosure and the reopening of a business is a positive for all parties involved.

While no official date has been set for the store’s reopening, Scott Sr. said the store would reopen as soon as possible.

McKeever’s pizza shop is not alone in facing foreclosure. In July, nearly 200 properties were slated to make the county tax auction list.