LA JUNTA, Colo. -- Six Wallace Oil Co. stores throughout the Arkansas Valley in Colorado will become Tank n' Tummy stores either through sale or lease-purchase, reported The Pueblo Chieftain. Wallace Oil, a wholesale gasoline distributor, will continue to provide gasoline to those stores as part of the deal. The sale's financial terms were not released.
Jim Wallace, president of the 46-year-old oil company, called the deal a strategic alliance. "In a world of mergers and acquisitions, a strategic alliance like this is not uncommon," he told the newspaper. "We see the relationship with [image-nocss] Tank n' Tummy as a good fit. It is an opportunity to grow both our businesses. The reason for that is we do fuel distributions and supply really good and they do convenience stores operations really well," he added.
Wallace Oil was started in 1962 by Bob Wallace and began providing Phillips 66 Quality Pro Clean gasoline. In 1989, the Wallace family opened and purchased c-stores. The operation is run by brothers Jim, Dan and Tom Wallace. In April, Wallace sold the Las Animas and Fowler, Colo., locations to Rocky Ford, Colo.-based Tank n' Tummy, which has several locations in Oklahoma. Rashid Sulehri, part of the family that owns Tank n' Tummy, is the company's Colorado top executive.
Tank n' Tummy will take over the former Wallace stores in Swink, Rocky Ford and Lamar, Colo., as well as one of the La Junta stores. Wallace Oil will continue to operate two locations in La Junta, said the report.
Tank n' Tummy also purchased the old Love's store in Rocky Ford in January. Sulehri told the paper that he decided to expand in Colorado because "I liked the area and the environment."
Wallace said that because his company will continue to provide Phillips 66 gasoline to the sold stores, it will hold Tank n' Tummy to the branding standards that Phillips 66 requires for customer service, store cleanliness and other areas. "That's the way we operated in the past and that's how we will do it in the future under those guidelines," he said.
Sulehri said the rewards program currently offered by Wallace Oil through its Quickees cards will be honored and continued at Tank n' Tummy stores. He said there will be some changes to the existing stores, including some improvements.
"I expect to keep all employees currently employed with Wallace Oil," Sulehri told the paper.
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