MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A longtime landmark in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Morgantown has officially made a grand return.
The Morgantown Area Partnership took part in the ribbon cutting for the new Sunnyside Superette 2.0 that opened at the same University Avenue location of the former convenience store that was active in the Morgantown community for over 70 years. Owner Ken “Lucky” Dufalla, Operations Manager Christopher Hare, representatives from the partnership, and City of Morgantown Arts and Culture Director Vicent Kitch were all on hand to welcome back a convenience store that served WVU students and Sunnyside neighborhood residents alike as far back as the late 1950s.
“We’ve got the idea to bring back the Superette once we came over and looked at it, just remembered the nostalgia from being in school,” said Dufala on the excitement in opening Sunnyside Superette 2.0. “We’re just proud that we can tie it in to the other stuff that we got going on with the logo, brand recognition, things like that.”
The effort to reopen the popular convenience store under the Sunnyside Superette 2.0 moniker took place over the course of two years after Dufala received blessings from property owner Dow Jones and former Superette owner Peter McGinley, who operated on the property until 2015. From there, the Morgantown Area Partnership granted final approval on the opening of the convenience store with commercial licenses to sell alcohol and tobacco that were acquired shortly afterward. With the convenience store now fully stocked and open for business, Duffala hopes Sunnyside residents will stop by and see what Superette 2.0 has to offer.
“We just keep adding to it, and we’re going to keep adding to it in the future,” said Dufala. “We’re going to do something with our mugs, we’re going to have a Sunnyside Mug Club coming up where you can buy one of the really nice Thermos mugs for a reasonable price, so then you can refill for as many times as you want for $1, we’re excited to get that going.”
According to Dufala and representatives from the Morgantown Area Partnership, initial reception from the Morgantown community to the opening of Sunnyside Superette 2.0 has been ecstatic, particularly those who were West Virginia University alumni. This continues multi-generational levels of support for the former Superette, which closed back in 2015 to allow for the installation of a Sheetz at WVU’s Sunnyside Commons (which closed in 2023), causing multiple protests led by a combination of Sunnyside residents, WVU students, and Morgantown traditionalists. Dufala, a WVU alum from the Class of 1996, is happy to bring back what once was a community staple.
“A lot of the older alumni that I run into are so excited just to see it back in this location because of the memories over the years,” said Dufala. “So everything that they carried, we’re trying to bring back.”
Much like the previous Sunnyside Superette that served the Morgantown neighborhood for over seven decades, the hope for Dufala is that Sunnyside Superette 2.0 will not only provide a welcomed bit of nostalgia but also provide a service that hasn’t been in that part of the city for two years. This is added when you factor in that with the exception of the BP gas station along Beechurst Avenue, this will be the only convenience store within walking distance for a neighborhood that houses thousands of people. With the store open until at least 3 a.m. every day, the Morgantown community is encouraged to stop by and check out Sunnyside Superette 2.0.
“I will tell you that there is a lot of excitement about it, just the fact that this was a well-known institution,” said Morgantown Area Partnership Membership and Partner Affairs Manager Jacob Kootz. “There’s a taste for these locally owned shops.”