Batteries Plus, a franchised store specializing in battery retail and service, opened at 5717 Excelsior Blvd. on May 2, 1994. Owner Bill Criego owned two other such stores in the Twin Cities at the time and planned to open more. The store is housed in a building built in 1963 by the American Legion, the former site of Don Steady’s Mobil station.
The Batteries Plus Company’s first store opened in 1988 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and in 2005 had over 225 stores nationwide. In 2005 there were 12 Batteries Plus stores in the Twin Cities area.