This episode is sponsored by Cenex®
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Diane Adam talks with Mike Maraldo, who leads the business unit of GetGo Cafe + Market as vice president of operations.
Laval, Quebec-based Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard acquired GetGo Cafe + Market in June. On this podcast, Maraldo explains why Couche-Tard a great fit for GetGo, what makes GetGo’s food and loyalty program so successful and more.
“At Your Convenience” brings industry experts and analysts together with CSP editors to discuss the latest in c-store news and trends. From mergers and acquisitions to foodservice and technology, the podcast delivers the story straight to listeners in short-format episodes, perfect for the morning commute or a quick break at the office.
Listen to their conversation above, or read the transcript here, which has been edited for length and clarity:
Diane Adam: How long have you been with GetGo? What do you love most about the c-store industry?
Mike Maraldo: I’ve been with GetGo a little bit over three years now. The majority of my time was on the big-box side with Giant Eagle in operations. But I will tell you the last three and half years have been absolutely fantastic. From a c-store perspective, it’s fast paced, right? There’s constant change, constant innovation and evolution, which I think is something that, from my perspective, I love.
When you look at the c-store space today, there’s a lot going on from a loyalty standpoint and from a digital standpoint. And the heart of it really is the customer experience. At convenience stores, we offer a niche for those customers and those shoppers that are on the run, that need something very convenient. They may be at a soccer game and they don’t have dinner planned. We’re a solution for them. I love the industry. It's been great.
Adam: As vice president, what are the biggest challenges you face as you take over and what are you most excited about to share with our listeners?
Maraldo: Thanks for that question. I think first and foremost, I have to call on my team. I am very proud of the team that I have at GetGo. The last 10, 11 months, it's been a lot. They’ve had their day jobs while at the same time getting ready for the acquisition with Circle K and making sure on day one, nothing was broken from a customer experience or team-member experience. I’m very proud of that group.
I think one of the things that I really enjoy about this acquisition is when you look at Circle K, they’re a global organization, they’re international. They have a lot of benefits that the GetGo brand and banner can use. They’re very good from looking for synergies and reverse synergies and sharing information. I think being part of the convenience industry is going to be a big win. Are there some challenges? I think so. I think we’ve gone through quite a few of them. Integration isn’t easy, especially when technology may be a little bit different from one banner to the other. But everything to this point has been extremely positive with the entire integration. It’s been an opportunity for my team to look at the business differently and to learn differently. And we're excited about the future.
Adam: Couche-Tard now owns 270 GetGo and WeGo fuel locations as part of the acquisition valued at $1.57 billion. What changes will be made now that the acquisition is complete and behind you?
Maraldo: I think the message here is it is business as usual. It is something that Circle K has said from the first day I met them till today, almost a month into the merger. I think if you’re a customer going to one of our stores, you’re going to see the same facilities. You’re going to see the same products. You're going to see the same marketing materials. Most importantly, you’re going to see the same team members, that you've come to know when you’re there in the morning to grab a cup of coffee. They're going to be there.
I think the future is exciting. I think there’s a couple of things that we're going to learn. We’re going to learn a lot from a supply chain standpoint. We’re going to learn a lot from just technology enhancements. There is a lot that Circle K can offer that allows us to make our business easier. If that’s happening, the customer experience is going to grow exponentially.
- GetGo is No. 31 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2.
Adam: Are there any plans to rebrand any stores to Circle K?
Maraldo: I think our focus right now is on seamless integration, making sure we meet the needs of the customer, which I mentioned previously, and our team members. Four weeks ago, we were competitors. Now we’re part of the same team and working through that collaboration, and working through the things we need to do to grow the business, to grow the banners and to meet the needs of our customers is exciting.
Adam: Bill Artman, president and CEO of Giant Eagle, said in a recent statement that "Couche-Tard is a great fit for GetGo.” What do you think makes it a great fit?
Maraldo: I think Bill's spot on there. I think as I've grown to know Circle K, I think the biggest fit is just from a cultural standpoint. They are very people centric as we were at Giant Eagle and are at GetGo where we do put the customer in the team member first. I think that's extremely important. It was important for my team. As we got to experience Circle K and have conversations with our peers on the other side, it was very clear that people-centric was not something they just said, but something that they really believed and lived. I also think operational excellence is very important in this industry.
There is a lot of competition out there. You’ve got to be sound at what you do from a blocking and tackling standpoint. And Circle K, as is GetGo, puts that at the top of pyramid of things that are important. The one thing that was important to us too is that we maintain our connection with our communities. We have over 270 locations spread throughout Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. We’ve got a little bit in Maryland and West Virginia, and we’re connected to our communities. It’s important at a grassroots level, which I think is important to make and build those relationships.
I think Circle K is an organization that has been built on acquisitions and integrations. The one thing that I absolutely love and what I've heard to this point is that they are interested in synergies. We want to work with you. We want to understand you. We want to learn from you.
Adam: Will GetGo become national or potentially global?
Maraldo: I’d love to have that conversation someday. I think right now our focus is just making sure we have a seamless transition here. I think those are conversations that are down the road. I think we’ll continue to do the things that we do best. We’ll continue to grow.
Adam: Running a loyalty program can have its challenges, what makes GetGo’s food and loyalty program so successful?
Maraldo: We really do think of ourselves as a food-first convenience store that just happens to have fuel pumps. Those fuel pumps are very important. But for us, food is who we are and what we want to continue to be. You know, we have a lot of made-to-order items. We have a great sub program every day with limited time offers throughout the year.
For some of the listeners that may be familiar with us, we have the Pilgrim Sandwich at Thanksgiving or the Captain's Sandwich during the season of Lent. We make customized salads. We're proud of our coffee program and our beverage program. I think the thing that excites me about the food is that it really is convenient. It’s quality. We use quality ingredients.
The thing that excites me is we're trending. You know, we have some culinary experts within our food program that are looking at what’s going on across North America, what’s coming over from overseas. We try to stay and meet the needs of all our customers. And sometimes that’s a challenge. You can only have so many items. But I think that’s what I would hang my hat on really. From a value standpoint, a quality standpoint—it’s convenient and trendy.
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