SAN ANTONIO --CST Brands Inc., parent company of the Corner Store chain of convenience stores, celebrated the grand opening of its new Corner Store Distribution Center (CSDC) on March 17, a 365,000-square-foot warehouse that will serve as the main hub for distributing food and merchandise to approximately 600 Corner Stores in Texas.
The warehouse is housed on a 77-acre campus with an additional 146,000 square feet of office space that will serve as the company's future headquarters--the CST Service Center--starting in 2016.
"We are happy to have found a new home in San Antonio that can grow with us as we expand our reach in Texas and across the U.S.," said Kim Lubel president and CEO of CST Brands. "I am excited about our company's future, and we will continue to look for opportunities to grow."
The purchase of the $43 million property was made possible with a city and county incentive package of tax abatements and cash grants worth $2 million. Under the incentive package, CST will invest in upgrades and retain 305 total jobs, 280 of them professional positions. The company will also create and maintain an additional 100 jobs by 2019.
Moving the warehouse from its prior location in Schertz, Texas, relocated 215 warehouse jobs to San Antonio, a number that will rise to 251 in 2015. It's also more than triple the size of the old facility, has three times the dock doors, 14 more tractors, 23 more trailers and uses leading-edge technology for picking and shipping merchandise.
The CSDC allows Corner Stores to maintain fresher inventories, makes them faster to market with new and trendy items, gives more control over food safety and quality, lowers the cost of goods by consolidating items onto one truck and enables foodservice and private-label offerings.
In addition to the warehouse and office space, CST plans to build a prototype Corner Store that will serve as a testing ground for new products and provide space to train and develop employees.
"CST has been a tremendous corporate citizen and contributes to our city in many different ways, from jobs and economic development to volunteerism and charitable giving," said San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor at Tuesday's ceremony.
CST Brands is one of the largest independent retailers of motor fuels and convenience-store merchandise in North America. Based in San Antonio, it has more than 13,500 employees at approximately 1,900 locations throughout the southwestern United States, New York and eastern Canada offering a broad array of convenience merchandise, beverages, snacks and fresh food.
In the United States, CST Corner Stores sell fuel and signature products such as Fresh Choices baked and packaged goods, U Force energy and sport drinks, Cibolo Mountain coffee, FC Soda and Flavors2Go fountain drinks. In Canada, CST is the exclusive provider of Ultramar fuel and its Dépanneur du Coin and Corner Stores sell signature Transit Café coffee and pastries. CST also owns the general partner of Allentown, Pa.-based CrossAmerica Partners LP, a wholesale distributor of fuels to more than 1,100 locations across 23 states.
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