Update: Julie Van Alyea, CEO of Redwood Oil Co., told local news outlet the Point Reyes Light that she is keeping one of the company’s 24 Redwood Market convenience stores after selling 23 of the locations and one ExtraMile location to Jacksons Food Stores earlier this month. Redwood Oil did not sell the Point Reyes, California, station. Marin County has approved plans for a major redevelopment of the location, according to the report. The project will replace the 200-square-foot cashier’s stand with a 1,700-square-foot c-store and five apartments. It will also include new food offerings.
Jacksons Food Stores Inc. has acquired the convenience retail assets of Redwood Oil Co. Inc. Rohnert Park, California-based Redwood Oil operates 23 Redwood Market convenience stores in northern California that offer the Aztec Grill proprietary food offering. The deal also includes one ExtraMile c-store in Cotati, California, for a total of 24 locations.
After beginning his career at Standard Oil, Peter Van Alyea founded Redwood Oil in the early 1970s when he opened his first gas station in Marin County, California. The initial store’s success paved the way for him to add two more stores later that year. In 1979, he partnered with Barbieri & Son, a wholesale distributor, to acquire HR Gantner’s Beacon-branded stores and two Chevron jobberships, marking the beginning of the company’s longtime relationship with Chevron.
In 1997, Redwood Oil launched Aztec Grill, an in-house, authentic Mexican food offering with a fresh, made-to-order menu. It now operates within 17 of the stores. Van Alyea’s partner retired in the early 2000s and the company divested the wholesale business, leaving Redwood as a retail-focused chain.
Julie Van Alyea, Peter’s daughter and Redwood’s current CEO, joined the company in 2004 and spearheaded efforts to modernize the Redwood and Aztec brands, embrace new technology and expand the retail offerings.
“For 53 years, the dedication of our people has been the foundation of our success,” said Julie Van Alyea. “As a family business, finding the right steward for the company we built was our top priority, and we are confident that Jacksons Food Stores will carry that legacy forward.”
Jacksons Food Stores celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this month. The chain began on Aug. 4, 1975, when John Jackson leased his first location, a Texaco service station in Caldwell, Idaho. He purchased more stores, and as Jacksons Food Stores reaches 50 years, the Meridian, Idaho-based chain has continued to expand. There are now more than 320 Jacksons and 1,120 ExtraMile convenience stores across 10 states. ExtraMile Convenience Stores LLC is a joint venture between Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and Jacksons Food Stores.
- Jacksons Food Stores is No. 28 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count. ExtraMile is No. 8.
Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc., Richmond, Virginia, provided merger-and-acquisition (M&A) advisory services to Redwood Oil, including valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process and negotiation of the sale. Cedric Fortemps, co-head of Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group, managed the transaction with Andrew LoPresti, director, and Michael Corliss, analyst.
“Over its more than 50 year history, the Van Alyea family built an incredible convenience retail business with a very unique and successful prepared food program in Aztec Grill,” Fortemps said.
Jeff Brown of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP served as legal counsel for the company.
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