Especially on the independent operator level, this recurring feature provides a snapshot of the frequently changing retail marketplace that includes such outlets as convenience stores, gas stations, truckstops, travel centers and related locations.
Please [image-nocss] send your store openings and related announcements to Greg Lindenberg at glindenberg@cspnet.com,www.twitter.com/glcspdn or www.facebook.com/glcspdn.
CALIFORNIA
New 7-Eleven opened in mid-May in downtown Long Beach at a Shell station, reported The Long Beach Press-Telegram.
7-Eleven opened several new stores in the Southern California area in May, 7ElevenSoCal said on Twitter: Torrance, May 14; Long Beach, May 21; and Sunland, May 27. A Pacoima store is set to open June 4.
COLORADO
Circle K Stores Inc. of Phoenix sold a c-store building built in 1991 for $4.8 million to Smoky Hill LLC, reported The Denver Business Journal.
CONNECTICUT
The Food Mart c-store in New Milford reopened April 17 after undergoing a major facelift, blending better into the historic business neighborhood, the News-Times said. The store owned by Bharat and Tina Patel was severely damaged just after Thanksgiving when a pickup truck driven by customer crashed through the east side of what was a wooden, box-style building dating back to the 1950s when it was a gas station. The Patels bought what was then a Cumberland Farms store 14 years ago. The Patels decided it was the time to renovate the way they had long wanted to do, but never quite had the time or the money to do so.
FLORIDA
Murphy Express Navy in Pensacola opened its doors on April 29, MurphyExpNavy said on Twitter and Facebook.
A company-operated 7-Eleven will open in Edgewater, reported The Daytona Beach News-Journal. The building, which previously housed a used car dealership, will be renovated, along with its parking lot. The location will not be selling gasoline. The store will be available for franchising in the future.
GEORGIA
A BP c-store in Coosa, the Pantry Kangaroo Express, has been sold, reported The Rome News-Tribune. Rome KanEx LLC, Woodland Hills, Calif., has acquired the store from 4814 Alabama Hwy LLC, Columbia, S.C. The sale price was $755,000. Deed records indicate the South Carolina company bought the business in September of 2008 for $675,000.
IOWA
West Des Moines-based Kum & Go LC held a grand reopening event May 21-23 for a new location in Ankeny, the company announced on Twitter, Facebook and its website. The event included a contest to win free gasoline for a year, as well as free and discounted food and beverages. It included an appearance by Brett Moffitt, a Johnston native and Joe Gibbs Racing Development driver.
KANSAS
A new Braum's ice cream shop/c-store will open in Wichita, reported The Wichita Eagle. A Braum's around the corner will close when the new store opens. Two additional stores are planned. Braum's, which has 278 stores nationally, also has about 50 more in the planning stages, including the Wichita stores.
KENTUCKY
Harper Oil's Williamstown Texaco HOP Shop converted to Marathon in mid-May, HarperOil said on Twitter.
Several stations in Lexington will take on a new look in June as Chevron pulls out of the market, said The Lexington Herald-Leader. Two Chevron stations are converting to Marathon. Another Chevron is still working out its plans, manager Sam Patel said. Georgia B. Clemons, who owns a Chevron, has decided to go unbranded. Clemons said the bulk of her revenue comes from her auto service center instead of gasoline sales.
MARYLAND
A Wawa c-store in Bel Air was closed Wednesday, said The Dagger, citing a notice posted on its door. In a letter to customers, Wawa president and CEO Howard Stoeckel said the store would close because it could not be expanded, renovated or updated to the company's current business model. The location was the only Wawa in Harford County which does not sell gasoline. Stoeckel said a new Wawa now under construction there will open in August. A Wawa opened in February 2010 in Joppa also serves the area. But a new, independent c-store appears ready to open in the former Wawa space. Another sign in the store's window Wednesday read, "Coming Soon: StopBy."
MASSACHUSETTS
Owner Scott Munroe closed the doors of the White Hen Pantry in Newburyport April 26 after its lease was not renewed by New England Development, said The Newburyport News. In June, construction to expand a CVS will begin, consuming the White Hen's property. When news that the store was going to close was announced, a Save the White Hen campaign was born. Protests were set up in the plaza; community meetings about the movement drew standing-room-only crowds. Bumper stickers were sold, and a Facebook page and blog were set up to rally support. The Munroes will open their own c-store, The Black Duck, in June at the Tannery.
MICHIGAN
Harold Miller has built a Marathon station in Auburn, as well as a self-serve car wash across the street, reported The Bay City Times. "It just looked to me to be a great opportunity," said Miller, owner of Harold Miller Realestate Development & Leasing Co. "[The property] sat there for two years and nobody was doing anything with it. It was just a bad-looking intersection for a good little town." The 4,800-sq.-ft. gas station, which sells beer and wine, opened in April. The Auburn Soft Wash, which has five self-service bays, opened in January. Miller said no new jobs were created from the car wash, but eight jobs were created with the opening of the station, which offers pumping services for those who need it. The new businesses coincide with a $177,000 project by the Auburn Downtown Authority Development.
Two travel plazas that closed unexpectedly in March are reopening under bank ownership, said The Battle Creek Enquirer. The Te-Khi Travel Court in Emmett Township began selling gasoline and diesel fuel in mid-May. It also has reopened its c-stores and service center. The Tekon Travel Plaza in Tekonsha opened May 20. Both have adjoining restaurants, which are slated to start serving food again this week, said Ron Polowy, operations manager with TriGild, an asset recovery company. Polowy said Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC now owns the Te-Khi and Tekon. The bank hired TriGild to get the businesses running again so that they can be sold to a new owner.
The new owner of a closed gas station in Ann Arbor plans to reopen under the Marathon brand by mid-summer after upgrades, said AnnArbor.com. Mark Yaldo bought the former Washtenaw Mini Mart property in February, two months after it closed following a lender foreclosure. Renovations started in early May to transform the former repair bays into a c-store. Interior changes will include adding higher ceilings to the 1,450-sq.-ft. retail space and decorating with University of Michigan-themed art. The exterior will get a new brick facade to more closely resemble the Arborland stores located just to the east. Yaldo said he envisions operating a green fuel center, adding E85 to the traditional fuel lineup Yaldo, who owns five stations in the Detroit area, said the market "in the last two years has been a disaster." But the pricing of the Washtenaw propertyit sold for $350,000, compared to its assessed value of $585,400created an opportunity to start the new business with lower facility overhead, he said. And the location on one of Ann Arbor's busiest roads was appealing, too, he added. "Ann Arbor has not been impacted [by the economy] as much as the state," Yaldo said. He also has applied to the city to sell packaged beer and wine, seeking to be the first station in the city to do so.
MINNESOTA
A new Sinclair Dino Mart station and c-store opened on May 25 in Detroit Lakes, said Detroit Lakes Online. It is the home to Tires Plus, which has moved from a nearby location. The station will offer a set of full-service gas pumps with attendants, as well as self-service pumps. A deli that will sell hot and cold subs, pizza and Mexican food products. Developer Bob Bristlin said, "We weren't planning on buying it, but the property was worth more than the bank was asking for it, and it's a good location." His son, Casey Bristlin, and Casey's wife Nichole, are owner-managers, and the store manager is Pretzy Waxler. The store will employ 12 to 16 full- and part-time workers.
The Oasis Market gas stations that were previously closed have been reopened under new ownership, The Stillwater Gazette said April 30. Scott Stevens, the former president of Twin Cities Stores Inc., which owned Oasis Market, said these are the first stations he's bought personally. "I'd been wanting to open my own business and decided to take a run at them," he said. His business, Lucky's Station LLC, purchased a station in Andover and the two Stillwater locations. The Greeley Street location closed last spring during a contract dispute with the company that supplied gasoline for the store. He said he is currently finishing up contracts with Gulf Oil, and the stores' gasoline should be branded by June. He is in talks with some fast-food chains to put one of the stores.
MISSOURI
Gier Oil, Eldon, is building a 4,000-sq.-ft. Phillips 66 gas station and car wash on the site of the former BP gas station owned by Gier, which operates 10 gas stations in mid-Missouri, said The Columbia Business Times. It is set to open in mid-June. Contractor Tom Darrough Construction LLC said BP is pulling out of the mid-Missouri market, so Gier decided to rebrand. The new station has 12 fueling stations, four more than the BP station, and has an adjacent car wash. The BP had 200 square feet of floor space, and the Phillips 66 will have 1,600 square feet of space and a license to sell beer, wine and alcohol, Darrough said. "It's a great location for a gas station, and the owners felt it was time to upgrade to a more current model."
NEBRASKA
A 24-hour Shoemaker's Travel Center opened in January, said The Lincoln Journal Star. The restaurant features a homestyle menu with favorites such as meat loaf, chicken fried steak, homemade cream and fruit pies, breakfast options and burgers. The cream pies, according to owner Dave Shoemaker, are made from the recipe used by legendary Lincoln eatery Alice's Restaurant.
NEW JERSEY
Two Warren County gas stations have reopened after being closed five days for selling diesel fuel below cost, said The Warren County News, citing the county Department of Weights & Measures. Superintendent Michael Santos said he believes it was a case of a price war created by a mistaken tax calculation. The department opened its investigation April 5 based on a complaint that three stations in Knowlton Township were selling diesel fuel below cost. The investigation determined the price war began at Columbia Shell. He said he believes management failed to include a 13.5-cent-per-gallon state tax in the price. Delaware Gulf across the street followed its competitor's lead and dropped its price. The department investigated a third station, but Santos declined to identify that retailer because of a not guilty plea and pending court hearing. Following a hearing April 28, Columbia Shell was ordered closed five days and fined $106 plus $33 in court costs. Delaware Gulf owner GMH Management was also ordered to close the station for five days, starting April 29, and fined $106 plus court costs. GMH was also found to have advertised Gulf fuel but was selling another brand; the station was fined $506 plus court costs and given a suspended sentence of 15-days' closure. That closure would be enforced upon any further infraction over the next year.
NEW YORK
The new Travel Mart Plus at the Chittenango Travel Plaza on the New York State Thruway opened its doors on May 7, said The Syracuse Post-Standard. The c-store will offer New York State products, apparel, souvenirs, periodicals and books, travelers' aids, chargers for cell phones and iPods, convenience foods as well as a variety of freshly prepared sandwiches, salads and other healthy choice alternatives. Construction at the rest area has been underway since December, when Thruway officials replaced a Dunkin' Donuts storefront with a Starbucks coffee cart. The Starbucks coffee shop was expected to open at the plaza in late May, joining the existing Sbarro restaurant.
Tops Friendly Markets is building its first gas station in the Rochester area, reported The Democrat & Chronicle. The station, adjacent to a Tops store, was expected to be ready for customers by late May. It is the 35th gasoline station for Tops, which has stores throughout central and western New York and in Pennsylvania. Tops has a program under which gas customers earn one bonus point for every $1 they spend. Each $100 spent at Tops equals 10 cents off per gallon. Savings can reach 30 cents per gallon depending on the number of bonus points accumulated.
The Seneca Nation of Indians officially opened its fourth c-store May 28, Business First Buffalo reported. The 5,000-sq.-ft. store in Cuba Lake includes 12 gasoline dispensers and a fast-food restaurant with limited seating. The new store, Seneca Nation Oil Spring One Stop Shop, replaces an older facility on the same property, said Odie Porter, Seneca Nation Capital Improvements Authority executive director. "It was time," she said. Construction on the $2 million project began last October. Porter said the store will employ 30 people on a full and part time basis.
A company owned by businessman and gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino has acquired a South Buffalo c-store, said Business First of Buffalo. 6253 Group Inc., an affiliate of Paladino's Ellicott Development Co., has purchased the former Reese's c-store. It paid $190,000 for the store, which had been owned by the late James Reese. Bill Paladino, Paladino's son and Ellicott Development vice president, said his company will be spending the next few weeks renovating the building. It is expected to reopen by early June as the South Buffalo Trading Co. Ellicott Development has two other c-stores in Buffalo. "It will be modeled after what we did with those other locations," Paladino said. South Buffalo Trading Co. is the first of possibly eight new c-stores that Ellicott Development is planning to open in the next few years, he added.
NORTH CAROLINA
Murphy USA opened a Murphy Express in Sylar City in early May, murphy_usa said on Twitter.
PENNSYLVANIA
Baltimore-based Royal Farms opened a new store in Dover on May 13, Royal_Farms said on Twitter.
The Roy DeWitt family has turned a car lot and auto detailing shop in Bullskin Township into the Crossroads Tobacco & Snack Shack, reported The Daily Courier. Brian and Josh DeWitt are part business owners and thought with the closing of Warehouse Groceries a few years ago that a c-store might be a good business at the location. The main goods at the store are tobacco products and hot subs and cold subs from the deli, which also has a host of different cheeses and other deli foods, like potato salad. The c-store also offers coffee, doughnuts and breakfast sandwich choices on freshly made croissants. The c-store also offers milk, chips and dip, eggs, breads, over-the-counter medicines, shaving cream, cough drops and bait and fishing hooks. It also features a drive-up window and an ATM. The DeWitts hope to add an outdoor patio with picnic tables. They also will soon be offering hand-dipped ice cream.
On May 12, officials from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Harrisburg, HMSHost Corp., Bethesda, Md., and Sunoco Inc., Philadelphia, opened the first redesigned Turnpike Service Plaza in the Philadelphia area. The expanded, modernized King of Prussia Service Plazafive miles west of the Norristown Interchange (Exit 333)serves westbound travelers along one of the busiest parts of I-276 with average traffic of 31,000 vehicles per day. The larger, brighter, 14,824-sq.-ft. plaza replaces a 1950s building demolished in 2009. The new plaza features a food court with Burger King, Starbucks, Dolci Gelati and California Pizza Kitchen. In 2005, the Turnpike entered into a 30-year deal with HMSHost Family Restaurants LLC and Sunoco. HMSHost is investing $100 million to build, operate and maintain 17 food courts. Sunoco is investing $70 million to redevelop 17 stations and c-stores. The $7.3 million King of Prussia Plaza is the sixth constructed since the partnership began. The plaza features a new Sunoco station with upgraded diesel fueling.
TENNESSEE
A new Bread Box Food Stores is building a new location in the Knoxville area, breadbox_stores said on Twitter on May 5.
TEXAS
Atlanta-based RaceTrac opened a new location in Allen on May 12, and it is opening new stores in Grand Prairie and Lake Worth soon, RaceTracDFW said on Twitter.
VIRGINIA
In less than three month, the Historic Triangle in Williamsburg has lost another 7-Eleven store, said The Daily press. In February, a 7-Eleven was closed after another 7-Eleven store opened up almost next door to it; however, the most recent closure was a result of poor sales caused by declining tourism. Company spokesperson Margaret Chabris said the store had a lease that was about to expire and officials decided to close the location because sales weren't where they needed to be to remain open. She cited the area's lack of tourists and the decline in the number of foreign workers hired in the area for the store's closure.
WASHINGTON
Bellingham businessman Joga Mann is the new owner of the Shell station in Estacada, reported The Estacada News. Mann finalized the purchase of the business from the former owners on April 27, and was granted a beer permit from the Oregon Liquor Control Board. Manager Raujit "Tony" Dhesi will help Mann operate the business. As part of the purchase, Mann renamed the business Main Street Shell. Mann will also continue to operate a similar gas station and c-store he has owned for almost a decade in northwestern Washington.
Four years after starting Hardy's Market in Sequim, Randy DuPont opened a second store, Hardy's Market 2, on April 30, said The Sequim News. The first Hardy's Market is known for its deli with local food, comfortable seating area and large selection. DuPont plans to bring the same atmosphere of antiques, a seating area and food and drink selection to the second market. "Normally a convenience store of this size wouldn't have seating inside, but we want the customer to come in to see us," he said. Hardy's Market 2 runs in conjunction with a Texaco and Pacific Pride station that DuPont purchased. He leases the c-store from Pettit Oil, for which he managed several sites. Tricia Hoeper, DuPont's niece, manages Hardy's Market 2. Another five employees will work in the store, totaling 16 people at the two businesses.
WEST VIRGINIA
Gary Glessner is transforming the 1920s Wheeling Island Firehouse into Wheeling Island Firehouse Drive-Thru, said WTRF-TV. He currently owns the neighboring Exxon gas station. Eventually, that c-store will be torn down and the operation moved to the Firehouse. The gasoline dispensers will remain where they are. The new store is expected to be opened in August.
WISCONSIN
Gene's Deep Rock gas station has new owners, but its full-service tradition will continue, said The Green Bay Press-Gazette. "The full-service part is very unique. That's something we want to keep up," said Mary Borley, one of the new owners, a group that includes her brothers, Tom and Dave Konop, and seven others. The Konops own the Konop Cos., including Konop Vending. They acquired three businesses, the service station, Gene's Auto & Truck and a nine-truck towing operation. There are 22 employees. Gene Rollin started his business in 1974 and remains with the business part time. Rollin said he sold on the condition that fill service continue. Joe Gegare, one of the owners, said the station has second- and third-generation employees. "The gas attendant position provides great part-time work," he said. Gene's Deep Rock does not include a c-store, but Tom Konop said most c-stores don't offer repairs and towing. The station has nine repair bays and ASE-qualified mechanics. Konop said short-range plans call for building up existing operations, but long range, they'd like to expand, building on the old-time service station atmosphere and the service.
After being out of business for more than six months, the Buffalo Spirits station, owned by Raj Bandhari, reopened in Merrill in mid-May, said WSAW-TV. The station burned to the ground last October. He started construction on a new store in February.
WYOMING
The Colter Bay Convenience Store opened April 24, tetontales said on Twitter.
Please send your store openings and related announcements to Greg Lindenberg at glindenberg@cspnet.com,www.twitter.com/glcspdn or www.facebook.com/glcspdn.
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