CANASTOTA, N.Y. -- After 30 years in the convenience-store industry, including what he calls a very difficult 2014, Fran Duskiewicz will retire Jan. 11, 2015, his last day with CST Brands/Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes.
“For 30 years I've felt like one of the most blessed people on the planet,” the former school teacher told CSP Daily News. “I was so discouraged and bitter when I lost my teaching job after eight years because of budget cuts that I couldn't imagine doing anything different. Then fate dropped me into John MacDougall's world, and I've enjoyed 30 years’ worth of experiences that I could have never imagined as a middle school English teacher.”
Duskiewicz’s involvement in the c-store industry is deep and varied.
The former senior vice president of Nice N Easy was named CEO and president of the Canastota, N.Y.-based c-store chain in mid-2014, taking the reins of the company after the death of founder and CEO John MacDougall. The chain was purchased by CST Brands in November 2014, and Duskiewicz stayed on with the company to operate as Nice N Easy.
Duskiewicz has worked for Nice N Easy since 1985, serving in various capacities including store manager, district manager, director of training and education, vice president of operations and CFO.
Duskiewicz calls this time an opportunity “to work side by side by with one of the best people who ever lived,” referring to MacDougall. Duskiewicz found dealing with MacDougall’s death and the subsequent sale of the company a very stressful time.
Duskiewicz served a term on the NACS Board of Directors and was on the NACS Research Committee for six year, two as chairman. That panel spearheads preparation of the annual State of the Industry (SOI) report. Duskiewicz also chaired the annual SOI Summit in Chicago for six years.
He is nationally recognized as a driving force for improved technology standards, shopper research and other initiatives benefiting the c-store trade. He has shared his unique perspective on the evolving industry by making presentations at NYACS events. In 2013, he received the New York Association of Convenience Stores' annual Carl Tripi Award. The award is given to recognize "low-profile, high-impact" contributions to NYACS and the convenience-store industry, in the style of the late Carl Tripi, who was chairman of Buffalo, N.Y.-based wholesale distributor Tripifoods Inc.
Duskiewicz has served on NACS' executive committee, technology committee and operations committee of the Joint Industry Project on Efficient Consumer Response; was a charter member of the NACS Category Management Task Force; was vice president of technical policy for the Petroleum/Convenience Alliance for Technical Standards (PCATS); and chaired the NACS Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council.
Duskiewicz thanked the leadership at CST Brands for “bending over backwards to accommodate” Nice N Easy’s people. While planning to take advantage of some well-deserved downtime, he plans to remain connected with the c-store industry in the future.
“I'd like to continue using my writing and speaking abilities, as well as my analytical approach to the industry,” he said. “How that comes to fruition is anyone's guess.”
Prior to its acquisition by San Antonio-based CST Brands, Nice N Easy operated 86 convenience stores in the state of New York.
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