BX reopens following renovations Published Nov. 1, 2012 By Senior Airman. Andrew McLaughlin 434 ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM ARB, Ind. -- Base Exchange customers might have noticed that some big changes have been made to the small store here. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held here Oct. 27 to celebrate the reopening of the new and improved Base Exchange at Grissom. "It's already boosted morale," said Priscilla Humphrey, the store manager. "It makes me happy to see a change in attitude for folks walking in the door." The $380,000 renovation was meant to better fulfill the needs of the base populace, said Humphrey. One of the first things customers will notice about the new store is the increased size. The store is now approximately 1,000 square feet in size, said Marcus Dwight, the Fort Knox Exchange general manager, who helped set up the store. Along with the increased size comes an 80% increase of items in stock, the majority of which are food and drinks, said Humphrey. "We added a lot more choices for lunch," she said. The new store has many of the features and offerings as a convenience store out in town, such as soda and coffee machines, fresh snacks including hot dogs, pizza, and even oatmeal. There is also a DVD rental machine inside. One of the new additions is "Snack Avenue" which has a variety of hot food ready to go as well as fountain drinks and different kinds of coffee. "The iced coffee is the biggest hit," said Humphrey. For the first 60 days, the store hours will be in a trial period. The current hours are: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. during Saturday unit training assemblies, and 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. during Sunday UTAs. The weekend hours are only for Air Force UTAs. Humphrey said the change has been a learning experience for the staff and they will see what works best for the customers. People are reacting positively to the new store, she said. However, there is one thing that has especially stood out to her. "The smiles," she said. "Everybody is so happy." Grissom is home to the 434th Air Refueling Wing, the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter. (Editor's note: Staff Sgt. Benjamin Mota contributed to this story.)
