CLEARWATER, Fla. --Thorntons Inc., an independent gasoline and convenience-store retailer, will open its first Florida location in Clearwater on the site of the former Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in late November.
The company recently announced its expansion into the Florida regional metro market. At the time, it slated its first store opening for 2013, but has now moved the date up to November, according to a report in the Tampa Bay Times.
The plan for the region is to add 15 to 20 stores in the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater area during the next three years.
"Our goal is to have six stores open by the end of this year or early next year," John Zikias, senior vice president of supply chain and category management with Thorntons, Louisville, Ky., told the newspaper.
Each store will be open 24 hours a day. The company plans to hire several hundred people in the coming months.
Initially, three grades of gasoline as well as diesel fuel will be available at Thorntons. E85, an environmentally friendly alternative fuel for FlexFuel vehicles, will not be immediately available until the logistics of its delivery are worked out.
In the store, visitors will be able to pick up a wide variety of products including groceries and beverages, fresh food, baked goods, money orders, gift cards and lottery tickets.
This is the company's first foray into a new metro/state region since 2007. With this expansion, the Thorntons brand will now be available in six states: Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
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