YORK, Pa. -- Not only is retailer Rutter’s stepping up competition by planning to add a convenience store deep in Sheetz territory in its rival’s hometown of Altoona, Pa., but the convenience-store chain is also planning to expand beyond Pennsylvania again into West Virginia and Maryland.
The York, Pa.-based chain will open its first c-store in the Mountain State by the end of May south of Martinsburg, W.Va., on Interstate 81, a high-traffic corridor, Rutter's Marketing Coordinator Kirsten Stanley told CSP Daily News. The more than 9,000-square-foot store will offer 14 fuel pumps and seven truck diesel lanes on the forecourt.
“We do plan to open more stores in West Virginia as we see fit. Additionally, we will be opening our first store in Maryland later this year in late summer or early fall. Years ago, we had stores in Maryland, but closed them a while ago,” she said.
“This is our return to retail growth outside of Pennsylvania,” Stanley said. “We go where our customers take us. We have customers requesting for us [to build] in these other states, including West Virginia, and it is a great way to grow a brand outside of our home state of Pennsylvania.”
The company also plans to sell beer and wine in the West Virginia store, according to a report by Herald-Mail Media.
Rutter's, through its real-estate holding company, M&G Realty Inc., acquired the 5.47-acre site for $3 million from Towson, Md.-based BTR BPD LLC, according to the newspaper, citing a deed that was recorded in January with the Berkeley County Clerk's office.
York, Pa.-based Rutter's, formerly Rutter's Farm Stores, has more than 60 c-stores in central Pennsylvania. The company ranked No. 92 on CSP's2017 Top 202 list of the largest chains in the United States. Rutter’s Dairy distributes products in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia.
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