ST. ANN, Mo. -- St. Ann, Mo., residents will be the first in the St. Louis area to take advantage of a new food-and-fuel operation that combines a grocery store with a gas station.
In a few months, area residents will be able to fill their gas tanks at a discounted price after buying groceries, without leaving the parking lot, thanks to a new operation being developed first at the St. Ann Shop 'n Save, according to a report in the Overland-St. Ann Journal.
Supervalu, the Minnesota-based owner of Shop 'n Save, has been [image-nocss] cleared to develop a fuel sales operation on a corner of the St. Ann Shop 'n Save property. The city approved a special-use permit to allow the gas stationfour pumps served by a kiosk, all covered with a canopy.
The city approved a similar permit a year ago, but delays resulted in work not starting within the timeframe allowed by the permit. As a result, the permit expired, and the company had to go through the application process again.
Attorney John King, representing Supervalu, said the delays resulted from a key employee's move within the company. That issue has been resolved, King said, adding that the company is ready to move forward.
"They're ready to break ground as soon as we get this permission," he told the Board of Aldermen, according to the newspaper.
King said the St. Ann operation will be the first of several planned in the St. Louis area. The concept calls for Shop 'n Save customers to receive discount coupons that can be used at the gas station, a program resembling the one at some Wal-Mart locations that feature a Murphy gas station on site.
Anyone can purchase gasoline at the site, King said, but unless they have discount coupons from the grocery store, they will pay a higher per-gallon price.
Customers at the Shop 'n Save in nearby St. John, Mo., will receive coupons that will be honored at the St. Ann store's gas facility, King said.
It's believed the gas station will be in operation within three to four months.
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