A Look Inside the First Shell Select C-Store

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- On Sept. 5, Shell celebrated the grand opening of Shell Select, a concept store in Louisville, Ky. This location is the only Shell Select branded convenience store in the United States. Shell said it anticipates rolling out additional U.S. locations in the coming years.

The site is operated by Lexington, Ky.-based Estepp Energy, a Shell oil, gasoline and diesel fuel wholesale distributor in central Kentucky.

Shell chose Louisville for the pilot U.S. Shell Select location because of its vibrant local culture, known for its unique food and beverage offerings, the company said.

Here's a look inside ...

Photographs courtesy of Shell

Shell Select provides a consumer-focused retail c-store experience to customers, featuring a broad range of locally inspired, freshly prepared food and beverage offerings, served in a relaxing and friendly environment, the company said.

The Shell Select offers many other fresh breakfast, lunch and snack items as well as a broad selection of fresh specialty drinks, including smoothies, frozen creations and the local Good Folks fresh-brewed coffee.

The store offers many fresh-food options that were developed by local Louisville chefs. Some of the locally inspired Kentucky favorites for breakfast include Country Sausage Biscuit, Bacon Sconewich and Country Ham Biscuit Duos. There are also some healthy choices for breakfast, including organic tortilla and egg white wraps.

The store also offers other "local favorites," including Mingua Beef Jerky, made in Paris, Ky.; Blue Monday Candies, made in Mt. Sterling, Ky.; and Ale-8 soda, made in Winchester, Ky.

Shell held a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Sydney Kimball (pictured, left), vice president of retail Americas for Shell; Gyongyver Menesi-Bondar, head of convenience retail for Shell U.S.; and Christy Jarboe (center), Louisville Forward senior economic development manager, who read a proclamation from Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer commemorating Sept. 5 as “Shell Select Day” in Louisville.

Customers got to meet and take pictures with Louisville native and former New York Knicks player Allan Houston (pictured).

Throughout the day, the store also offered samples of new chef-prepared food and beverage offerings, live music and giveaways for Louisville residents.

“We are excited to offer a new and unique experience for our customers,” said Kimball. “Shell Select is different from traditional convenience stores in that it provides high-quality, fresh, culinary-inspired food and beverage options for customers who are on the go, and it also provides the ability to get in and out at your own pace without being slowed and without feeling rushed.”

Houston-based Shell Oil Co. is an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with operations in more than 70 countries. In the U.S., Shell operates in 50 states. There are approximately14,000 Shell-branded gas stations in the United States. Shell Oil Products U.S. has a network of about 6,000 branded stations in the West. Motiva Enterprises LLC, Houston, has about 8,000 Shell-branded stations in the East and South.