New Convenience-Store Roundup for June 2016
By Greg Lindenberg on Jul. 11, 2016OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. -- This edition of New Convenience-Store Roundup features new convenience-store openings, closings and stores under new ownership for the month of June 2016.
The unscientifically gathered roundup—gleaned from company announcements, websites, social media and newspapers around the country, among other sources—is by no means complete, but serves as a monthly competitive snapshot of newly opened or closed U.S. convenience stores, gas stations, truckstops and travel centers not previously reported in CSP Daily News.
Many of the stores are owned by independent operators, while others belong to major chains, some part of CSP’s Convenience Top 101. Some represent new entrepreneurs, while others are longtime businesses exiting the industry.
Alabama
Coffee County District 2 Commissioner Kim Ellis (above) and his friend Denny Perkins opened The Corn Crib @ New Hope, a new convenience store in New Hope, Ala., in June. With chili dogs, pizza and burgers on the menu, the store offers a variety of food. Boston-butt and rib-eye steaks also will be on the grill on certain days.
Arizona
Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores opened a new location in Tolleson, Ariz., on June 16. The 24-hour, 12,000-square-foot facility features Subway and Carl’s Jr. restaurants, coffee, fresh fruit, gift merchandise, name-brand electronics and more. Professional drivers can take advantage of seven showers and 89 parking spaces for trucks.
Arkansas
Kum & Go LC opened a new convenience store on June 10 in Paragould, Ark. The store is a more than 6,200-square-foot Marketplace design prototype. Features include elevated food experience with Kum & Go’s “Go Fresh Market”; open kitchen layout, clear aisles and easy-to-navigate zones; seating inside and heated patio seating outside; complimentary Wi-Fi and charging stations for customers; and a beer cave. It is designed for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified status, using energy-efficient and sustainable design practices.
California
7-Eleven franchisee Moiz Ali celebrated the grand opening of a new convenience store, his third location, in South Los Angeles on June 23.
Connecticut
The Gas Man gas station in Torrington, Conn., held a grand opening on June 23. It recently renovated the Discount Food Mart convenience store.
Florida
Two 7-Eleven stores in Golden Gate Estates in Naples, Fla., opened in the former spaces of E's Country Store. One opened June 7, the other June 8. The sites have been closed since October. The stores had anchored the Estates since the mid-1980s, selling groceries and gas in a part of Collier County where the nearest supermarket is at least 20 minutes away. Owners sold to 7-Eleven last fall, but wouldn't say if the sale was required as part of a deal with their bank, which voluntarily stopped foreclosure proceedings against the stores in the spring of 2015, court documents show. The move marks the first expansion of 7-Eleven into the Estates area.
Two new Wawa convenience stores opened in southwestern Florida on June 9, one in Sarasota County and one in Manatee County.
Iowa
Kum & Go opened the doors on June 16 to its newly built convenience store in Waukee, Iowa. It is the first retailer to open in Waukee’s multiuse Kettlestone development. The more than 6,200-square-foot store features the Marketplace design. Features include elevated food experience with Kum & Go’s “Go Fresh Market”; open kitchen layout, clear aisles and easy-to-navigate zones; seating inside and heated patio seating outside; complimentary Wi-Fi and charging stations for customers; and a beer cave. It is designed for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified status, using energy-efficient and sustainable design practices.
Kansas
Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, featuring the company’s first Taco John’s restaurant, opened for business on June 30 in Liberal, Kansas. The 24-hour, 5,000-square-foot travel stop features fresh fruit, coffee, gift merchandise, name-brand electronics and more. Professional drivers can take advantage of two showers and 36 parking spaces for trucks.
Michigan
NUVU Fuels opened a new convenience store in Rockford, Mich., on June 6.
Mississippi
Fair Oil Co. held a grand opening for a Polk’s Drugs and gas station in Ocean Springs, Miss., on June 7.
Missouri
Kum & Go LC open the doors June 24 to its new convenience store in Springfield, Mo. The more than 6,200-square-foot store features the Marketplace design. Features include elevated food experience with Kum & Go’s “Go Fresh Market”; open kitchen layout, clear aisles and easy-to-navigate zones; seating inside and heated patio seating outside; complimentary Wi-Fi and charging stations for customers; and a beer cave. It is designed for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified status, using energy-efficient and sustainable design practices.
The Fast Lane Drive Thru convenience store opened June 28 in West Plains, Mo. “Our sign says it for us; we are the most convenient store,” said owners Shan Van Alst and Mike Ball. “We have everything any other c-store has, minus gas. We’re not just beer, liquor and tobacco. We sell diapers, wipes, milk, bread, and our inventory is growing.” The store features 14-foot doors allowing for RVs, trucks with boats and campers to use the service. The staff will pack coolers, allowing customers to stay in their air-conditioned vehicles. Fast Lane also will be serving hot sandwiches during the lunch hours soon.
New York
Stewart’s Shops opened a convenience store in Baldwinsville, N.Y., in Onondaga County on June 1. Also, the first of three new Stewart’s Shops convenience stores being built in Oneida County, N.Y., this year opened its doors on June 22 in Westmoreland, N.Y. The shop features fresh milk, ice cream and coffee, fresh-made pizza (pie and by the slice), subs and other easy food options such as pastries, sandwiches, deli dogs and hot entrées.
Oklahoma
A new Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores location opened its doors on June 23 in Enid, Okla. The 24-hour, 8,000-square-foot facility features a Carl’s Jr. restaurant, 63 parking spaces for trucks, five showers, RFID cardless fueling, CAT scales and other driver services. Customers can purchase coffee, fresh fruit, gift items and more.
Oregon
Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores opened a new store in Boardman, Ore., on June 9. The 24-hour, 11,000-square-foot facility features Carl’s Jr. and Green Burrito restaurants, 95 parking spaces for trucks, seven showers, a Love’s Truck Tire Care facility, RFID cardless fueling, CAT scales and other driver services. Customers can purchase coffee, fresh fruit, gift items and more.
Dari Mart closed a convenience store in northeast Eugene, Ore., on June 21. Kathy Gibson, vice president of marketing, said the company shut the store because of “lease restrictions” and a “suboptimal parking situation.”
Pennsylvania
Royal Farms opened a new convenience store on June 8 in Upper Chichester, Pa. The 24-hour, 5,300-square-foot store features eat-in and eat-out café tables, a full food court and 16 fueling stations. It has salads, coffee and grab-and-go meals and sandwiches, its own brand of chips, candy bars and hand-pulled chicken sandwiches. Royal Farms also exclusively offers Ace cigarettes, which sell for $3.93 plus tax per pack. The store also offers surcharge-free ATMs.
Wawa opened a convenience store in Ridley Township, Pa. Area native and Let There Be Rock School's Audra McLaughlin of NBC’s “The Voice” helped kick off the grand opening on June 17.
Rhode Island
Colbea Enterprises LLC opened a new Seasons Corner Market convenience store in Newport, R.I., on June 7. It opened a new Seasons Corner Market in Lincoln, R.I., on June 24.
Texas
Don Carney is selling Don's Chevron in Weatherford, Texas. The station offers full-service gas, checking tires and changing oil. “I’m the last dinosaur,” Carney said. “I call myself the dinosaur because nobody else does it. It’s all convenience stores.” From 1972 to 1978, he managed the station for Curley Williams, purchasing it in 1978. “I went to work for Mr. Williams in 1967 driving an ambulance. … You had the station and the ambulance service run right out of the station.” The ambulance contract ran out and he didn’t renew it.
The Courthouse Market opened in late June in Sherman, Texas. The store will sell a mixture of common convenience store items, such as chips, sodas and coffee, and grocery items, such as eggs, milk and sandwiches. The store is owned by entrepreneurs Kevin Couch, Ben Crouse and Jon Brown.
Virginia
Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores opened a store in Meadowview, Va., on June 16. The 24-hour, 10,000-square-foot facility features Subway and McDonald’s restaurants, coffee, fresh fruit, gift merchandise, electronics and more. Professional drivers can use five showers and 72 parking spaces for trucks.
Wisconsin
Krystal and Ryan Campbell are the new owners of Campbells One Stop, a convenience store in Soldiers Grove, Wis. They bought the business from Ryan’s parents, Vicki and Brian Campbell, on June 1. Among the changes, it will stay open later and has added a second cash register. They also will expand the beer selection, adding more craft beers, and will bring more consistency in pizza and deli.
The Oneida Nation opened the doors on June 8 to its newly renovated One Stop convenience store and Mobil gas station, the newest of five in Oneida, Wis. The store will act as a hub for the tribe's other shops. It offers hot food and expanded seating along with general store items. The store replaces the original One Stop, built in the 1980s. The building was renovated several times before the tribe decided to tear it down completely rebuild.
Send your new-store announcements to Greg Lindenberg at glindenberg@winsightmedia.com.