C.N. Brown

South Paris, Maine-based C.N. Brown Co., a family business since 1948, began as a retail and wholesale lumber company and expanded into gasoline, heating oil and convenience stores.

It operates 74 Big Apple Food Store convenience outlets in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, offering a mix of foodservice options. Three sites feature the company's proprietary Big Apple Deli program with breakfast, lunch and dinner items, while larger stores have quick-service restaurant brands such as Subway, Dunkin' and Chester's fried chicken. Coffee, tea and frozen options round out the dispensed-beverage offerings.

A Big Apple Rewards loyalty program offers customers the ability to accumulate points with every purchase and save on items they buy the most.

C.N. Brown has 12 gas stations without a c-store, and 27 Red Shield Heating Oil sites. The company distributes fuel to 40 independents and provides electricity to customers in Maine.

For benchmarking purposes, store counts are as of Jan. 1, 2021.