Par Mar Oil Co.

Joseph Grow of Parkersburg, W.Va., and James L. Hollister of Marietta, Ohio, founded Par Mar Oil Co. in 1967, with "Par" standing for Parkersburg and "Mar" for Marietta. The company opened its first convenience store in 1979. It operates Par Mar Stores in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

The chain operates car washes and quick-service restaurants, including QSRs under the A&W, Fazoli's, Quiznos and Subway brands, as well as Par Mar's proprietary foodservice. Fuel brands include BP, Exxon, Marathon and Shell.

Croton Holding Co., Pittsburgh, purchased Par Mar Oil in 2016. Croton Holding's largest asset is Superior Petroleum Co.

In late 2019, Par Mar acquired the 17-store Mountaineer Mart chain in West Virginia.

For benchmarking purposes, store counts are year-end 2019.