MONTE VISTA - On June 13, the Monte Vista Chamber of Commerce and the Monte Vista Coop C-Store hosted a grand re-opening celebration following the store’s renovations and upgrades. 

The event consisted of a ribbon cutting ceremony and a free hot dog lunch with chips and a drink. 

Monte Vista Chamber Executive Director Heather Hillin said, “Today marks an important step in our community’s growth. The new diesel exhaust fluids (DEF) and hi-flow pumps, are more than just upgrades, they are about serving the needs of our residents, travelers, and especially our hardworking agricultural partners and commercial drivers, who are so vital to our local economy.” 

Hillin said that the Monte Vista Coop is a cornerstone of the community. “This renovation shows their dedication to progress while honoring their roots.” 

Hillin congratulated the entire MV Coop team for their hard work and dedication. She thanked everyone for attending the event and wished MV Coop continued success. 

C-Store Manger Monica Silva, who has been with the Monte Vista Coop for 7 years, said, “I love everything about my job. It’s been great. We ended up getting new pumps and tanks, and we added DEF, and we ended up adding some canopies. The renovations took about 2 months. It’s a whole new upgrade outside. The reasons for the renovations are that the pumps we had were old, so they needed to be redone.” 

The tanks put in were two 30,000 and one 20,000, versus the 5,000 and 6,000 tanks they had before, according to C-Store Chief Financial Officer Cory Iten. 

“The upgrade is also safer, and easier for our drivers,” Iten said. “We are the only place currently in Monte Vista that sells DEF at the pumps. Our price right now is also cheaper than anybody else that might be in other areas around here. We want to have people come and check out our DEF and our new pumps; they are much faster. We also have red dyed diesel.” 

Iten added that the inside of the C-Store was renovated about 9 months ago.  

“The inside of the store is also new, just not as new as the outside, but it’s all been renovated in phases,” Iten said.