Convenience-store retailer Applegreen, which currently has three locations operating along the 570-mile New York State Thruway system, will eventually have a presence at all 27 service areas.
Dublin-based Applegreen on Jan. 1 took ownership of 11 McDonald’s locations, which closed at the end of 2022 when contracts expired, and now operates all 27 service areas—although many sites are still under construction, according to Jonathan Dougherty, deputy director of media relations and communications for the Thruway Authority.
The Applegreen locations, which operate 24 hours per day, carry hot meals, grab-and-go sandwiches and wraps, coffee, salads, snacks, drinks and more. The c-stores also sell Taste NY products and merchandise. Some service areas might include Burger King, Sbarro or Subway restaurants.
- Applegreen is No. 34 on CSP’s 2022 Top 202 ranking of U.S. chains by total number of company-owned retail outlets.
The changes are part of a $450 million project to modernize the 27 Thruway service areas built in the 1950s, a public-private project that began in summer 2021 using no toll dollars or state tax dollars.
Fuel services will be available at all locations during construction, though restrooms will not, the authority said. To ensure continuity of services to Thruway customers during construction, no two consecutive service areas in the same direction of travel will be closed for renovations at the same time.
Prior to this project, the Thruway’s 27 service areas were run by one of three operators: North Bethesda, Maryland-based HMSHost, Buffalo, New York-based Delaware North, and Chicago-based McDonald’s. HMSHost and Delaware North’s contracts expired in July 2021, the authority said. McDonald’s contract expired Dec. 31. McDonald’s had been an operator on the Thruway since 1991.
Applegreen, the holding company of Petrogas Group U.S. Inc., Plainview, N.Y., made its U.S. debut in 2014 after opening its first sites in New York state. The U.S. business includes sites in the North, Midwest and Southeast under the Shell, Exxon, Mobil, Sunoco, BP, Chevron, Holiday, Freedom and Speedway fuel brands.
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