C.N. Brown

This family-owned business, which started in 1948 as a retail and wholesale lumber company in Lovell, Maine, operates 73 Big Apple Food Store convenience stores in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont offering a mix of foodservice options.

In 2022, the company launched a rewards program where points can be spent like cash.

Three Big Apple sites feature the company's proprietary Big Apple Deli program with breakfast, lunch and dinner items, while larger locations have quick-service restaurant brands such as Dunkin', Chester's fried chicken and Subway. Coffee, tea and frozen options round out the dispensed-beverage offerings.

After its start, C.N. Brown expanded its business and territory to include petroleum products in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

In the early 1970s, management recognized the changing lumber industry and began concentrating efforts in the convenience store, gasoline and heating oil business.

The company, now owned and operated by the Jones family, also operates 25 heating oil offices and 11 service stations. It also services more than 100 gasoline dealers. It has positioned itself to be a major contender in the competitive petroleum market throughout Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

C.N. Brown has supported the Muscular Dystrophy Association for more than 25 years, raising more than $6 million.

For benchmarking purposes, store counts are as of Jan. 1, 2023.