MESA, Ariz. -- The staff of CSPedia, Winsight's online encyclopedia of convenience-store chains, gathers news and insights and updates the listings for the nearly 500 retailers in its database on a daily basis. CSPedia delivers a monthly summary of these reports, often news not yet announced publicly, to its subscribers.
Here is a collection of some of the news and people updates from April 2016.
People on the Move
- 7-Eleven Inc. Margaret Chabris has left the company after a longtime career in corporate communications. Stephanie Shaw is the Texas-based chain’s public relations contact.
- Chevron (ExtraMile). Former foodservice manager Theresa Webb left Chevron in April for a new job with BevMo, where she will manage several categories for the beverage retailer. Her replacement has not yet been named.
- Circle K Heartland. Norm Beck has been named marketing director of the Heartland business unit of Circle K. He previously was director of operations in Circle K’s Midwest region. The Heartland region was formed after Circle K acquired The Pantry and Kangaroo Express stores and split the Midwest region. It operates about 350 stores in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Former director Gavin Zindel is transferring with Circle K to California.
- Circle K South Atlantic. Kevin Taylor has been named director of marketing for the South Atlantic business unit of Circle K. The unit was formed after Circle K acquired The Pantry and Kangaroo Express stores. He previously was a director of merchandise at The Pantry. Heidi Cowan manages dispensed beverages for the South Atlantic stores.
- Circle K Southwest. Pat Bresnahan has been named operations director. He previously managed loss prevention for the Southwest business unit of Circle K, which operates more than 300 stores in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
- CoGo's Co. John Eby III has been named president and CEO, replacing Carl Colteryahn Jr., his father-in-law and founder of CoGo’s. The Pennsylvania-based chain has more than 50 stores in southwestern Pennsylvania and Maryland. Eby was with PNC Bank, FORE Systems and Kraft Heinz before joining CoGo’s in March.
- Dandy Mini Mart. Former foodservice manager Mike Rothstein has left the company. His duties have been distributed to others on the retail operations team. The Pennsylvania chain operates more than 60 sites in New York and Pennsylvania.
- Global Partners (XtraMart/Alliance Energy). Peter Frattarola is responsible for all tobacco business for the Waltham, Mass.-based company. Buyers manage categories for XtraMart stores, as well the Alltown sites acquired from Alliance Energy.
- Maverik. Jesse Higgins has been named category manager of foodservice. He joined the Utah-based chain in 2013 as a district manager. Maverik operates more than 275 stores in 10 states.
- Meijer Gas. Kristen Siver is in operations for the c-store division of Meijer. She has been with Meijer since 2008 and became an associate buyer in late 2015. The company is based in Michigan and has more than 170 fueling sites with convenience stores.
- Murphy USA. Tara Walker has joined Murphy USA as director of loss prevention. The Arkansas chain has more than 1,300 sites in 24 states.
- Plaid Pantries. Brent Chadwick has joined the company as vice president and corporate controller, replacing Mark Conan, who retired as CFO. The Oregon chain operates more than 100 Plaid Pantry stores in Washington and Oregon.
- Raymer Oil (Fast Phil's). Matthew Redmond has been named president of Raymer Oil, which acquired Kivett Oil of North Carolina and the Fast Phil’s stores. Redmond is also general manager and vendor contact for the chain’s 10 company-operated stores.
- RaceTrac. Joe Akers is managing legal and contractual matters for the Atlanta-based chain, following the departure of Jon Breviu.
- Speedy Stop Food Stores. John Bonner has joined the chain as foodservice specialist. The company has 23 stores and is based in Victoria, Texas.
- Thorntons. Sarah Prorok has been named director of foodservice for the Kentucky chain. She joined Thorntons in 2002 as a customer service representative and has held several management positions, moving into foodservice category management in 2005. She most recently served more than a year as director of process improvement and impact planning. The chain has more than 180 stores in six states.
- TravelCenters of America. Ivan Wagner, director of insurance and risk for the Ohio-based chain of travel centers, has announced he is retiring May 31. Julie Gerda, manager of safety, will assume his duties.
In the News
- Cary Oil Co. has purchased six c-stores from Mount Airy Oil Co., boosting its store count to 14 after returning to retail in 2013 with the development of the Breeze Thru brand. Breeze Thru Markets LLC is a subsidiary of Cary Oil, based in Cary, N.C. One new store opened in April in Raleigh after a raze-and-rebuild. It features a Krispy Krunchy Chicken quick-service restaurant.
- CrossAmerica Partners has completed the purchase of 31 franchise Holiday Stationstores from SSG Corp. Of the 31 sites, 28 are in Wisconsin and three are in Minnesota. CrossAmerica Partners, previously known as Lehigh Gas Partners, is a distributor of branded petroleum in the Northeast and also owns properties and buildings in the c-store industry. It is based in Allentown, Pa.
- Gibson Oil Co. (GOC Ltd.) is building a new GOCO store in Mississippi. The company operates seven stores in Alabama and Mississippi, as well as a wholesale fuel division.
- Global Partners LP has expanded its gas station and convenience-store network to western Massachusetts with the addition of 22 retail sites through long-term leases with O’Connell Oil Associates Inc. The stores are located in the Pittsfield and Springfield, Mass., areas and are branded under the Convenience Plus banner and sell Mobil or Shell fuel.
- MNS Ltd. is adding a wine-tasting section that features Hawaii wines at 10 of its ABC Stores. Customers will be able to sample and purchase local wines on premises. The chain specializes in Hawaii-made products and has 73 c-stores and tourist shops on the islands.
- Newcomb Oil has five new stores under construction, slated to open in 2016. The Kentucky-based company operates more than 70 FiveStar Food Marts in Indiana and Kentucky.
- Nouria Energy Corp. is expanding its footprint in Maine, acquiring the assets of J&S Oil, including eight Xpress Stop c-stores with fuel, two Express Lube auto-service locations and three Ultra Clean car washes. The chain, based in Manchester, Maine, will have 31 sites in Maine and a total of about 140 locations in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
- Schnucks Markets has sold its last four remaining Schnucks Express sites in Illinois and Missouri to Wallis Oil. Wallis will take over operations of the stores in May. Schnucks is leaving the c-store business but will continue to offer fuel rewards through the sites.
- Sunoco LP has expanded its c-store footprint in Texas and New York, with two acquisitions in April. It acquired 14 Rattlers stores in Texas from Kolkhorst Petroleum. Less than a week later, Sunoco announced it plans to purchase the retail c-store business of Valentine Stores Inc., serving upstate New York. The deal includes Valentine Stores’ 18 franchised Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes locations, as well as one stand-alone Tim Hortons and one Tim Hortons in an Express Mart convenience store operated by a third party. As of March 31, all of Sunoco’s c-stores across the country are operated under Sunoco LP, including the APlus brand in the Northeast. The company owns and operates more than 1,300 stores and franchises another 270 APlus sites.
- Ohio-based TravelCenters of America has acquired all 17 QMart Marketplace stores and converted them to Minit Marts. QMart stores previously were owned by Quality State Oil, based in Sheboygan, Wis.
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