Pretzel-Making Facility Proposed for Vacant Renovo Store

RENOVO – A Lancaster County man with past positive experiences in the Renovo area wants to give back to the community by converting a long dormant commercial property into a pretzel-making facility.

He is Joe Turnowchyk of Gap, Pennsylvania, an architect who has long-standing ties to western Clinton County. Turnowchyk’s firm, Architex Project Management, LLC, has offered $85,000 to Renovo Borough, the current owners of the former Family Dollar store along Huron Avenue. Borough council Monday night offered support and now the effort goes into Clinton County Court for court approval as the offered price is reported well below the appraised value of $200,000.

Turnowchyk has had a camp in the Tamarack area for some 23 years, comes into Renovo some five, six, seven times a year, he said, to play the organ for services at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church (across the street from the Family Dollar site). Additionally his firm has been involved in the design work for some recent borough municipal improvement projects.

Turnowchyk told therecord-online, “I want to do something positive for the people of the Renovo area, the ultimate goal to provide a business there.” He said the pretzel-making proposal is in its infant stages and he plans to work with the Clinton County Economic Partnership in bringing it to fruition. Plans are to rent out the structure short-term while details are completed for pretzel production.

As shared with borough council at its meeting Monday night, the plant would employ only local people, about 20, and use only local products. Representatives from Davis Real Estate, the firm handling the transaction, said the community would be assured the purchase will be a benefit to the area and the developer has an interest in providing fundraising opportunities to churches and schools in the community.

Borough solicitor Stuart Hall was expected to file the necessary paperwork in court this week.