E.J. Pope & Sons

E.J. Pope & Sons is celebrating 100 years in business in 2019. The company owns and operates 39 stores branded Handy Mart, and all are in eastern North Carolina. Stores sell Phillips 66 and unbranded fuels. Foodservice offerings include quick-service restaurants such as Subway, Which Wich and Pizza Inn Express. One store in Surf City has a Handy Mart Kitchen with fresh-prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner options. The Handy Mart Rewards Card and mobile app give members 3 cents off per gallon of fuel, access to exclusive specials and free items in the club program. Handy Mart’s “Turtle Dude” mascot is front and center on the company’s Facebook page and its rewards program.

The third-generation, family-owned company was founded in 1919 as a coal hauling business, and then as a hauler of brick, stone and other supplies. The first Handy Mart store was opened in 1975.

Source: Convenience Digital Resource Library, Technomic. For benchmarking purposes, store counts are year-end 2018.