ONONDAGA - Countryside Stove & Chimney, Inc. located at 3767 Howlett Hill Road in the town of Onondaga opened Sept. 5 just in time for the cold weather season.

The new location is part of the Countryside Stove & Chimney distributing chain. The hearth retailer, based in Holland, N.Y. (south of Buffalo), has 18 stores across New York State. Many of them are concentrated in Western New York. David Peatfield, sole principal of the Onondaga location, says his affiliation with Countryside Stove & Chimney provides him discounted pricing from the company's distributors.

The 2,000-square-foot store sells coal, corn, pellet, gas, and wood stoves along with fireplaces, and inserts. The store offers several product lines such as Avalon, Austroflamm, Bixby, Kozi, Drolet, and Leisure Line Coal.

The units supplement the heat furnaces provide. Some models are powerful enough to heat a 2,400-squarefoot home without use of a furnace, Peat-field says. Peatfield's second company, Cedarvale Services, Inc. (CSI), provides coal, corn, and pellet fuel to supplement the stoves. Countryside Stove & Chimney and CSI share locations.

Prior to the store's opening, CSI's previous location was on Smoral Road in the town of Onondaga. Peatfield founded CSI in 2002. CSI generated approximately $1 million in revenue in 2005, he says. Peatfield predicts Countryside Stove & Chimney to generate between $600,000 and $1 million in revenue during its first year.

Peatfield purchased the property from James Medaj in June 2006. Extensive renovations were necessary to transform the rundown convenience store into a furnace showroom. Peatfield self-funded the $150,000 renovation costs, he says. He completed the renovations himself, using the help of friends. Next year, Peatfield plans to build a 1,200-square-foot addition to the showroom to accommodate new product lines. Although the store's location is out of the way, it fits in with the store's country theme, he explains.

"It's off the beaten path for road traffic," he says.

Peatfield says he originally preferred to locate the store on West Genesee Street in the town of Camillus, across from the shopping center formerly known as Fairmount Fair, but he couldn't work out a deal. Peatfield doesn't dismiss relocating to that area in the future.

Countryside Stove & Chimney employs five full- and part-time workers. Peatfield plans to hire a lead stoveinstaller soon.

Prior to breaking into the alternative fuel and heating business, Peatfield owned and operated DFP Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc. Peatfield closed the business a few years ago, to spend more time with his daughter, he says. The company peaked at $4 million in annual revenue.

Michael Rupp, sole principal of Countryside Stove & Chimney, Inc., founded the company in 1982.