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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | | MAY 15, 2023 19 Elm Street in Enfield and the third a short distance off Interstate 84 in Sturbridge. These 8,500-square-foot fueling centers will feature Nardelli's Grinder Shoppe and Fuel America Coffee House franchises, as well as Frisbie's Dairy Barn ice cream shops. The Enfield location will include a Soapy Noble Express car wash. Noble is building a freestanding car wash in Niantic, near its East Lyme location. The company opened its first two car washes, in East Windsor and Feeding Hills, Massachusetts, late last year. Frisbie said he plans to build car washes at or near all new and existing Noble stations, including in New Britain, Enfield, Niantic and Norwich. One will shortly break ground in Groton. The company has also incorpo- rated electric vehicle chargers in all existing locations, and its newest service centers will each host eight charging stations under canopied hoods. They will be capable of completely refueling electric vehicles in under 20 minutes, Frisbie said. Noble also plans to build a $7-million, 16,000-square-foot electric vehicle discovery center next to its Sturbridge service station, which will allow motorists to learn about electric vehicle ownership and potentially test drive vehicles from various manufacturers. It plans to build an electric vehicle car dealership and service center next to its Newington service center. Part of the goal, Frisbie said, is to help build out the state's electric vehicle infrastructure. "I believe EV cars are coming. … This is an investment in the future of transportation," Frisbie said of the discovery center. Finding good partners Frisbie said the aim is to be best- in-class for all offerings, with better products in nicer locations, blending fuel-ups with other needs that would otherwise take multiple stops. Noble is also developing a web application that will allow gas customers to gain loyalty points toward free food, coffee, ice cream and car washes from the company's growing network. "My target market is the mom in the minivan," Frisbie said. "She wants a clean, safe, well-lit environment where she can get a good-quality product and offering for herself and her family. We want people to come to Noble for their daily lives. They come there for their coffee and breakfast, they come there for lunch or in the evening." Frisbie said Nardelli's took some convincing to allow franchises in Noble's newest service stations. The Italian deli traces its roots to three immigrant brothers who arrived in Waterbury in 1914. Nardelli's started offering franchises in 2004, and there are now 15 Connecticut locations. "When we got the initial phone call, we were skeptical," admitted Marco Nardelli, franchising CEO and a co-owner of Nardelli's. "We are used to one-off (locations). This wasn't conventional." But he eventually was sold on Noble's plans for upscale service stations, as well as Tammo and Frisbie as individuals. "I think it's a good fit, because they are a family business and we are a family business," Nardelli said. "He and Abdul are good people. It's not just a business concept. It's the moral and ethical standards we both have that will drive us forward." Town leaders have also embraced Noble's vision. East Hartford Mayor Michael Walsh said the company's planned location in his town offers a "powerful combination" of amenities that will attract customers throughout the day. "It will serve the north side of town very well and access to the highway is excellent, so it will be a busy place," Walsh said. "The construc- tion will remove a few obsolete buildings as well. So, all in all, I love this combination." 'Quickly profitable' Over the past decade, Tammo and Frisbie have tapped financing from North Brookfield Savings Bank, Springfield-based Freedom Credit Union and Newtown Savings Bank. Noble turned to Liberty Bank for the three service stations currently under construction and anticipates using the Middletown-based lender for future projects, Frisbie said. Stephen Roche, Liberty's market president for Greater Hartford and regional manager of commercial banking, said Noble is attractive as an innovative and forward-thinking owner-operator. The company has a proven knack for opening locations that are quickly profitable, Roche said. "We like Michael as an entrepre- neur and visionary, particularly as it relates to this industry," Roche said. "His business model is sound, and I think he has a vision for the future that a lot of other locations don't have." A rendering of the new Noble service stations planned in Enfield, East Lyme and Sturbridge, Mass. RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED Gas stations and apartments? Noble offers that By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com I ce cream shops, upscale Italian delis and electric vehicle showrooms are not your usual pairings with a gas station, but how about housing? Hartford-based Noble Gas Inc. has done it. In 2018, the upscale service station developer-operator completed a development on the fringe of downtown Hartford that combined a gas station with a building housing a convenience store, its corporate offices and eight apartments. A service center that will break ground later this year on Whitney Avenue in Hamden will also include 12 market-rate apartments. Noble recently launched construction of a 22-townhouse development behind its newest service center in New Britain. Housing is not a standard compo- nent of Noble's business model. But it's an option if the opportunity arises, said co-owner Michael Frisbie. The Hartford project on Buck- ingham Street, for example, fit with the Bronin administration's desire to develop more downtown housing. In New Britain, it was a ques- tion of making use of excess land on Noble's 6.5-acre property, Frisbie said. "We were working with (Mayor Erin Stewart), trying to figure out the highest and best use," Frisbie said. "She mentioned the city is looking for homes. We came up with owner-occupied townhomes." The Noble gas station development at 131 Buckingham St., in Hartford includes a mixed-use commercial building with eight apartments (shown in background). HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER