Thorntons Inc.

Thorntons Inc. operates convenience stores in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. The chain’s fresh-food options include hot and cold selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thorntons also offers a selection of hot and cold beverages, as well as produce and select grocery items.

Thorntons has launched new-concept c-stores that focus more on food. It has rolled out the Real Kitchen Real Food program at select stores in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.

All stores offer the updated Refreshing Rewards loyalty program, which allows members to access exclusive offers and savings. Launched in 2014, it provides customers with discounts on gasoline and rewards based on the number of visits, not the dollar amount spent. More than 1.5 million guests are registered, according to the company.

The chain is a proponent of E15 and offers the ethanol blend primarily in the Chicago area. Adding E15 is a strategic focus for the company, which has a goal of offering it at 100 sites in that market.

Source: Convenience Digital Resource Library, Technomic. For benchmarking purposes, store counts are year-end 2017.

Photo courtesy of Steve Holtz.