WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Yesway has completed its acquisition of Allsup's Convenience Stores, a 304-store regional chain in New Mexico, West Texas and Oklahoma known for its burritos. The companies announced the deal in October.
“All of us at Yesway are excited to be joining together with Allsup’s, one of the most iconic and adored convenience-store chains in the country,” said Tom Trkla, chairman and CEO of Yesway. “We are honored that Barbara and Mark Allsup selected us to be the future custodian of their brand promise and legacy, which Lonnie and Barbara Allsup started over 63 years ago with the opening of their first store in Roswell, N.M. We take this responsibility very seriously and pledge to all of Allsup’s loyal customers that what makes Allsup’s so unique and special will not change. We look forward to serving our terrific customers, to continuing to offer the world-famous Allsup’s burrito and to building on Allsup’s legendary tradition by adding new and exciting products and customer benefits in the months and years to come.”
Yesway is No. 43 in CSP’s2019 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by number of retail locations. The acquisition of Allsup’s (No. 24), the largest in Yesway's history, catapults the 4-year-old c-store operator from 150 to 421 stores in one transaction and bolsters its presence in the Southwest. It owns and operates more than 450 c-stores and truckstops in nine states: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.
It also brings the company close to achieving its goal of assembling a 500-store portfolio.
Brookwood Financial Partners, a real estate and private equity investment and asset management company based in Beverly, Mass., founded BW Gas & Convenience Holdings LLC, doing business as Yesway, in 2016 with the purchase of 31 c-stores, mostly from Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go LC. Other deals followed, and the chain expanded into Texas in 2017 with the acquisition of 35 Wes-T-Go and Chillerz c-stores in the Abilene area. In 2018, it acquired 13 Chisum Travel Center and Fast Stop c-stores in the Lubbock and Amarillo area and reached its 150-store milestone.
“There are tremendous synergies between our two companies, the most notable of which are Allsup’s phenomenal foodservice offer and Yesway’s technological expertise,” Trkla said. “We are fortunate to have very experienced management teams within both organizations, which will help us execute on our vision. I am thrilled that Mark has agreed to serve as president of the combined company, and I look forward to working closely with him as we complete the integration and continue to grow the portfolio.”
In addition to Mark Allsup, several other key Allsup’s executives and department managers will have senior roles in the combined company, including Brian Ashburn, who will be senior vice president and co-director of retail operations, and Jeff Scarbrough, who will be senior vice president and director of fuels. All three will become members of Yesway’s operating committee.
“From our founding over 60 years ago to today, Allsup’s has had a rich history of caring about our employees, our customers, our service providers, and the communities in which we work and live,” Allsup said. “With Yesway as the new steward of the Allsup’s legacy, we know that our values and our commitment to maintaining a hardworking, caring and loyal culture will not change as we move forward. We could not be more pleased about joining the Yesway family and look forward to a bright future together.”
Over the past four years, Yesway has acquired more than 450 c-stores in Iowa, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Allsup’s Convenience Stores Inc., Allsup’s Petroleum Inc. and High Five Capital LP are based in Clovis, N.M.
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