Dash In owner Wills Group is making moves in the Carolinas. The convenience-store chain has 16 locations for new-to-industry stores under contract in North and South Carolina, Wills Group President and CEO Blackie Wills told CSP Daily News on Tuesday.
"We believe there are tremendous growth opportunities in the Carolinas," Wills said. "There has been strong population growth in both states and both states consistently top rankings for business friendliness."
This includes 14 North Carolina locations and two South Carolina locations, he said. Wills Group is about to break ground on the first three North Carolina locations in the next 45 days, Wills said.
The project has a $143 million price tag, the Charlotte Business Journal. reported. Construction at 1185 Copperfield Boulevard, Concord, North Carolina, is expected to start in October, the newspaper said.
Dash In, which has nearly 300 stores, plans to grow by 20 to 25 sites per year over the next five years, Wills told CSP.
"We will continue to grow in the mid-Atlantic [Maryland, Delaware and Virginia], but are pursuing significant growth in Virginia and North Carolina as we also look to fortify our Maryland and Delaware markets," Wills said.
The sites under contract in the Carolinas are ground-up developments that will feature Dash In’s new 5,600-square-foot prototype stores, and many stores will also feature Splash In car washes, Wills said. He expects these to open in the next two years.
In March, Dash In said it bought a 3.29-acre outparcel at 9930 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, North Carolina. The location is near UNC Charlotte. At the time, the company said it was excited about expanding further into North Carolina in 2026.
It also has more than two-dozen remodels planned for the rest of the year.
- Wills Group is No. 123 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
Based in La Plata, Maryland, and family owned since 1926, The Wills Group has nearly 300 retail locations across the Mid-Atlantic region, including Dash In convenience stores, Splash In Eco car washes and the SMO Motor Fuels retail petroleum distribution and fuel convenience center network. The Wills Group is one of the largest independent Shell Oil marketers in the United States, and also operates Exxon, CITGO and Dash In fuel locations.
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