BANGOR, Maine -- Dead River Co. is getting out of the convenience store business after about 40 years, according to a report by WABI-TV. Company officials have reached an agreement to sell its 19 stores in Maine to Circle K, said the report.
The stores are in Augusta, Bangor, Belfast, Brunswick, Caribou, Farmingdale, Gray, Houlton, Mars Hill, Mexico, Millinocket, Presque Isle, Rockport, Rumford, Southwest Harbor and Winthrop.
Maine is in Circle K's Great Lakes Division. It did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Deanna Sherman, a vice president for the Bangor, Maine-based company, told the news outlet that the move is designed to help Dead River focus on its core business of selling heating oil and propane, as well as installing and servicing heating equipment.
About 300 people work in the Dead River convenience stores, the report added. Sherman said Circle K officials have agreed to offer jobs to a majority of the current employees.
The sale is expected to be complete in mid-December.
Circle K is the U.S. brand of Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. Couche-Tard's retail network is comprised of 5,795 c-stores, 4,128 of which include motor fuel dispensing, operated by 13 business units, including nine in the United States covering 43 states and the District of Columbia (primarily under the Circle K banner), and four in Canada covering all 10 provinces (mainly under the Couche-Tard and Mac's banners).
Dead River is one of the largest distributors of petroleum products to residential and commercial customers in northern New England. Offerings include a variety of petroleum products on both the wholesale and retail levels, including home heating oil, kerosene, diesel fuel, propane and gasoline. In addition, company professionals provide 24-hour burner service and heating equipment installations.
In 2009, after 70 years as a distributor of Exxon motor fuels for the state of Maine, Dead River Co. switched to the Shell brand to sell at retail across the majority of its gas stations and convenience stores. The decision was made in part by Exxon Mobil Corp. deciding to discontinue all of its indirect and direct retail gasoline sales in the Northeastern states.
Founded in 1909 by Charles Hutchins, the Dead River Company established its roots in the forest products industry along the banks of the Dead River, from where the company took its name.
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