Editor’s Note: This story was edited from an earlier version to clarify the details of the transaction.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, has approved a motion for Schierl Sales Corp. to purchase certain intellectual property relating to 25 The Store convenience locations in Wisconsin and Michigan from Mountain Express Oil Inc. as relief in Mountain Express Oil’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to a September 25 court filing. The transaction does not include the stores themselves.
Mountain Express, with a network of 166 company-owned convenience stores and 300 dealer-owned customers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March in an attempt to reorganize the company.
After Alpharetta, Georgia-based Mountain Express missed payments to gasoline suppliers, which has forced some operators to close their fuel centers, travel centers and convenience stores, Judge David R. Jones, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas, terminated all of Mountain Express Co.’s real estate leases.
In a series of court orders on Aug. 24, the judge converted the filing from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, essentially directing Mountain Express to liquidate its assets.
Mountain Express had purchased The Store brand from Team Schierl Cos. in March 2022.
“Although we will still be active in helping to operate the business, we have sold The Store brand to West Hill Ranch Group, a division of Mountain Express Oil, who will be taking over complete ownership and management of our iconic brand later this summer,” Tim, Fritz and Bill Schierl, co-CEOs of Team Schierl Cos., announced on Facebook on June 2, 2022. Schierl Cos. subsequently sold the buildings and properties of The Store to an unnamed real estate investment trust (REIT) in a sale-leaseback deal.
Upon the closing of the transaction with Mountain Express, the parties entered into a transition service agreement that provided that Schierl would continue to operate The Stores for 90 days, at which time Mountain Express would take over their operation; however, Mountain Express never gave notice that it would take over operation of The Stores, and Schierl continued to operate them.
Schierl requested that the transition service agreement be rejected and terminated so that it could discontinue operation of The Stores on behalf of Mountain Express. The court approved that request.
Schierl is not re-acquiring the 25 c-stores. The company is purchasing the intellectual property and related rights and interests for possible future retail use if they got back into the convenience-store business, an unnamed source told CSP Daily News, although it currently has no plans to do so.
Schierl offered the bankruptcy trustee a cash purchase price of $1 million for all right, title and interest of the estates in and to all of the following assets relating to The Stores: the registered trademarks for “The Store,” “Impact Rewards” and “Aromas Beverage Bar” and all other registered and unregistered tradenames, trademarks, logos, service marks, copyrights, intellectual property rights and all associated goodwill; all contract rights and all other leasehold interests and franchise rights; all assignable permits and licenses; and all books, records, customer and vendor information, data and files of any kind for the 25 c-stores, according to the court filings.
As part of the transaction, Schierl releases any and all of its claims against Mountain Express. The court approved the motion “free and clear of all liens, claims, interests and encumbrances,” the documents show.