Cherry Berry Coming to Buffalo, Albertville in 2014

There's no debating it. And it's not a Facebook fact, or a rumor, anymore. 
Cherry Berry is coming to Albertville. 

Future yogurt shop owner Bill Richard, a St. Michael resident and businessman over the 17 years, told St. Michael Patch Monday the store can be expected to make its arrival in Albertville in early 2014. 

"The offer is there, and we have a location that we like" Richard said. "The issue, or the holdup, is the deal has to go in front of a court because the property itself is in bankruptcy. But once everything is squared away we have a general contractor who can turn it over in about a month, so it should happen early in the year." 

Richard put up two Facebook sites this year to generate interest in two locations–Albertville and Buffalo. 

"We wanted to kind of do a competition to see which site would generate the most interest, and we told people we would go ahead with that location first," Richard said. "Albertville won pretty easily." 

But the Buffalo location, unfortunately for residents here in STMA, will open first. The site is being worked on now by the contractor, and a sign announcing Cherry Berry's arrival to the county seat is in the window. 

"It's in the Crossroads Campus, right next to Jimmy John's and Little Casear's off Highway 55. It should be a really good spot," Richard said. 

The Albertville shop should be located, if things clear through for the deal, right next to the Sprint store in Albertville, at the intersection of 57th Street Northeast and LaBeaux Avenue (County Road 19). 

"It's an area that just didn't survive the recession very well, and we're hoping an anchor like Cherry Berry, which is a brand a lot of people know now, can help bring it back around. I think some of the activity you're seeing there now shows a store like this can do well," Richard said. "The support we've seen on Facebook is incredible. We've got two stores that have more support than stores that have been open for a long time, and we're still working toward opening our doors." 

In the last six months, McCoy's Restaurant and Bar has opened in the former Pubhouse/Major's location, and a new dance/yoga studio has taken residence in another gaping hole in the complex. 

"I like the idea of generating jobs for our kids here. Each store will have a GM, and then five to 10 employees. We'll start screening for both, really, in the next couple of weeks here," Richard said. 

Both stores will be community supportive, he added. Cherry Berry has several ways to raise money for local causes, from a family in need to the school band or soccer club. He'll have more information on those opportunities once the store's doors are open.