New Convenience-Store Roundup for July 2023

This edition of CSP’s New Convenience-Store Roundup features new-to-industry (NTI) c-store openings, as well as closings, that took place in July 2023.

Florida, Pennsylvania and Tennessee had the most new stores for the month, each with three. Pennsylvania, however, also had three stores close, one each by EG America, Sheetz and Wawa.

The unscientifically gathered roundup—gleaned from company announcements, websites, email, social media and newspapers around the country, among other sources—is by no means complete, but it serves as a monthly competitive snapshot of newly opened or closed U.S. c-stores, gas stations, truckstops and travel centers.

• Click here for new c-store roundups from previous months, along with other grand opening and new-store coverage. And click here for coverage of convenience industry mergers-and-acquisitions activity.

Many of the stores listed here are owned by independent operators, while others belong to major chains. Some are part ofCSP’s Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by size. Some of the owners and operators are new entrepreneurs, and some are industry veterans.

Unless otherwise noted, these NTI locations offer the food, snacks, beverages, tobacco, merchandise, services and amenities found in most c-stores. Most offer fuel. ...

Don’s Mercantile, a new c-store in Decatur, Alabama, opened on July 21. It offers packaged goods and dairy products, breakfast and lunch specials and shaved ice. The owner said his goal is to provide a neighborhood market, a place where people can get a candy bar or a soda and get a good conversation or a smile.

Net new stores*: 1

*Represents new-to-industry stores opened minus stores closed in this state for the month of this count only. Other c-stores not captured by this count may have opened or closed in the state. The roundup does not include raze-and-rebuilt, remodeled or replacement stores. acquisitions or new ownership.

Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores opened a new location in Wilcox, Arizona, off of Interstate 10 on July 13. The site offers seven diesel bays; 62 car parking spaces, 60 truck parking spaces and three RV parking spaces; and a CAT scale. The more than 13,000-square-foot store features an Arby’s restaurant, bean-to-cup gourmet coffee, five showers, laundry facilities and a Mobile to Go Zone for electronics.

Net new stores: 1

A new Insta-Stop Chevron gas station and c-store opened in Bakersfield, California, on July 20. It has a commercial kitchen that serves fresh food every day.

Net new stores: 1

Owners Mahmood “Moe” Shokranifar and his wife Marcella “Marcy” Shokranifar closed the M&M Food Store in Pueblo, Colorado, in late July after 36 years. New owners have purchased it and have plans to revamp it.

Net new stores: -1

A Daybreak 76 gas station opened on July 8 in Cape Coral, Florida.

Wawa opened a new c-store in Boynton Beach, Florida, on July 13.

Southwest Georgia Oil opened a new Inland SunStop gas station and c-store in Tallahassee, Florida, in mid-July.

Net new stores: 3

A Gas N Wash gas station and car wash with a Dunkin’ Donuts opened in Plano, Illinois, on July 14.

Net new stores: 1

Casey’s General Stores opened a new c-store in Greenwood, Indiana, on July 27.

Net new stores: 1

Midland Farms opened a new c-store in Somerset, Kentucky, on July 18. It features eight gas pump stations, biofuel pumps and a car wash. The store offers bean-to-cup coffee, frozen coffees, frozen drinks, fountain drinks, as well as a deli with hand-breaded chicken tenders and pizzas, subs, cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches. Salads are made in house fresh every day. It also offers Amon’s Bakery products that come in fresh every morning, It makes fruit cups daily with fruit obtained locally.

Net new stores: 1

The Board of Health and other regulatory departments in Ashfield, Massachusetts, shut down a Neighbors Convenience Store on July 14 after they found multiple building, fire and health code violations, as well as an illegal apartment behind the store.

Net new stores: -1

Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores opened a new location in Lucedale, Mississippi, off of Highway 98 on July 13. The site offers five diesel bays; 59 car parking spaces, 42 truck parking spaces and two RV parking spaces; and a CAT scale. The more than 10,000-square-foot store features an Arby’s restaurant, bean-to-cup gourmet coffee, four showers, laundry facilities and a Mobile to Go Zone for electronics.

Net new stores: 1

Johno’s Greenville Market opened its doors July 3 in Greenville, New Hampshire. The c-store offers a burrito bar, pizza, home meals and ice cream.

Net new stores: 1

Wawa opened a new c-store in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on July 20.

Net new stores: 1

A Byrne Dairy & Deli c-store opened in Cortland, New York, on July 19. The store offers a full deli, bakery, ice cream stand and fuel station.

Stewart’s Shops opened a new c-store in Utica, New York, in late July.

Net new stores: 2

Sheetz opened a new c-store in Durham, North Carolina, on July 15.

Royal Farms opened a new c-store in New Bern, North Carolina, on July 27, its third in the state. It has 16 fuel pumps, a carwash and operates 24 hours and 365 days a year.

Net new stores: 2

United Dairy Farmers opened a new c-store in Washington Township, Ohio, on July 29.

Net new stores: 1

Casey’s General Stores opened  a new c-store in Guthrie, Oklahoma, on July 28.

Net new stores: 1

A Raceway gas station opened in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, on July 14.

EG Group closed a 2,700-square-foot Turkey Hill convenience store in Lancaster Township, Pennsylvania, on July 15. The store’s lease came to an end, ands the company did not renew it.

Sheetz opened new c-stores in in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on July 6 and Greencastle, Pennsylvania, on July 27. The company closed the “Sheetz on the Point” in Indiana, Pennsylvania, near Indiana University of Pennsylvania, on July 31. The store was one in a series of concept stores operating around college campuses that did not feature gasoline pumps and focused on food sales.

Wawa closed a c-store in Center City in Philadelphia on July 16. “While closing a store is always a difficult decision to make, Wawa constantly conducts careful and extensive evaluations of business performance and operational challenges of all stores on an ongoing basis,” the company said.

Net new stores: 0

A new 7-Eleven c-store and gas station opened July 13 in Carolina Forest, South Carolina.

The Spinx Co. opened a new c-store in West Union, South Carolina, on July 19. The store serves the chain’s fried chicken, chicken biscuits and chicken tenders. Customers can also purchase fountain drinks, lemonade, iced tea with Spinx’s “chewy ice,” in addition to soft serve ice cream and hand-spun milkshakes. Beverages also include bean-to-cup coffee and Nitro Cold Brew.

Net new stores: 2

Blue Earth Resources Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Fuel Trader Supply and Fuel Trader Resource Management, opened a BP-branded retail location in La Vergne, Tennessee, in mid-July. The site has 16 fueling positions, and the 5,590-square-foot building features a New York-style deli and a Mexican food offering.

Casey’s General Stores opened a new c-store in Sevierville, Tennessee, on July 28.

MAPCO opened a checkout-free c-store in Nashville, Tennessee, the company’s second, in late July, powered by Grabango.

Net new stores: 3

Foxtrot, a hybrid convenience store, cafe and delivery market, opened its third location in Austin, Texas, on July 22. The store is situated within City Hall. It offers an all-day café experience, along with grocery items that include local products such as Chop Chop Ramen, Lick Honest Ice Creams and more.

TXB opened a new c-store at the end of July in Kyle, Texas.

Net new stores: 2

Sheetz opened a new c-store in Chesterfield County, Virginia, on July 13.

Net new stores: 1

Ivan Moody, the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch, opened Moody's Rock Stop, a rock and roll-themed c-store and fueling station in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 15. It will sell his personal line of specialized products. The store will offer a military discount to current and former armed service members.

Net new stores: 1

NEW STORES OPENED IN JULY 2023: 30

STORES CLOSED IN JULY 2023: 5

NET NEW STORES IN JULY 2023: 25

TOTAL NET NEW STORES IN 2023: 184

To be sure your locations are listed in upcoming roundups, please send new-store announcements and other news to Greg Lindenberg at glindenberg@winsightmedia.com.