NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
The staff at Medicine Hat Nissan stand outside the dealership's new location on Strachan Road on Monday.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Medicine Hat Nissan opened at its new Strachan Road location Monday with a new source of energy – literally.
On top of a seven-vehicle showroom and lot space for 150 more, the local automobile dealership features 100 parking stalls sheltered by solar panels, which general manager Brandon Sanchioni says will hopefully power the entire building.Â
“We hope to run our entire building off of the energy produced from it,” said Sanchioni, adding “small-town energy” will be an important part of the atmosphere inside. “There’s a direct focus on keeping that small-town energy, that intricacy of what this community is about, but offering customer service at a big-time level.”
Sanchioni added opening at the new location allowed Medicine Hat Nissan to rehire all staff that were laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they all showed up early and eager to work on Monday morning.Â
“It’s a true blessing,” he said. “I had the majority of the staff here at 6:45 a.m. this morning, just super excited to get here. Most of them don’t get here until 9 a.m. normally, so that just shows the excitement of the new building.
“We’re at full capacity and we’re ready to serve the community.”
The new location also offers a technician shop, and will be opening an express lube bay by the end of the week.
“I would like to thank the community,” said Sanchioni. “Everybody that supported us, both our customers and our staff, in getting us here to this location.”
