RICHMOND, Va. — Sbarro pizza is coming to four Village Pantry Indiana locations in a deal between the restaurant chain and convenience-store retailer GPM Investments.
Two Sbarro locations will open this month, with two more planned for early 2022, said GPM Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of ARKO Corp.
GPM will serve Sbarro’s New York-style extra-large pizza slices handmade daily, with freshly prepared dough, hand-shredded 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese and San Marzano style tomatoes, with a variety of toppings, stromboli, breadsticks, chicken wings, whole pizzas and chicken tenders.
The partnership will enhance customers' in-store experience and adapt to evolving consumer shopping habits, the company said. Earlier this year, GPM announced the completion of its second remodeled store in Mechanicsville, Va., featuring a new deli, expanded grab-and-go for prepared foods, and freezers for frozen foods. GPM also recently expanded its partnership with DoorDash to offer delivery in more than 600 stores, 84 of which now offer alcohol delivery.
- GPM is No. 7 on CSP’s 2021 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by size. (7-Eleven Inc.’s May closing of its acquisition of Speedway from Marathon Petroleum moves GPM into the No. 6 position in the industry.)
“We’re constantly evaluating and thinking through new ways to meet the needs of our customers and expand our foodservice offerings,” said Arie Kotler, chairman, president and CEO of ARKO. “With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting dining options for many living in remote locations and with pizza remaining one of the top-selling food items in convenience stores, we look forward to this new partnership with Sbarro and providing even more value to our customers and stakeholders.”
David Karam, CEO of Sbarro, which also has a deal with EG America, added, “We’re excited to expand geographically through our new partnership with GPM. We’ve delighted our customers with authentic New York-style pizza and Italian favorites for more than 60 years. Together with GPM, we will continue to provide premium quality foods to even more consumers.”
Sbarro opened in 1956 as an Italian salumeria in Brooklyn by Naples, Italy-born founders Gennaro and Carmela “Mama” Sbarro. Columbus-based Sbarro serves pizza and other Italian dishes in more than 600 restaurants in 24 countries.
GPM Investments LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of ARKO Corp., a family of community brands, is based in Richmond, Va., and operates or supplies convenience stores in 33 states and Washington, D.C. It has about 3,000 locations comprised of about 1,400 company-operated stores and 1,650 dealer sites to which it supplies fuel. GPM operates in three segments: retail, which consists of fuel and merchandise sales to retail consumers; wholesale, which supplies fuel to third-party dealers and consignment agents; and GPM Petroleum, which supplies fuel to GPM and its subsidiaries selling fuel, as well as subwholesalers and bulk purchasers.
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