The Spinx Co. Inc.

With locations throughout North Carolina, the Spinx convenience-store chain has grown significantly from a single location, which opened in 1972. The chain was started by former Shell employee Stewart Spinks when he expanded his home-heating-oil company and gas station into the c-store business.

Foodservice is a major focus for the chain. Every new store has a commercial kitchen that allows employees to prepare everything from egg biscuits to fried chicken. The chain’s Fresh on the Go menu includes fresh produce, sandwiches made daily, wraps and salads, as well as fruit, veggie and yogurt cups.

In 2018, Spinx opened its largest c-store yet, a more than 6,000-square-foot site in Moncks Corner, S.C., designed to focus on made-to-order food and face-to-face convenience. Also in 2018, Spinx, which has 45 car washes, built its first tunnel car wash and debuted the Spinx Car Wash Club, which offers unlimited washes at three price levels.

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