After 40 Years, Illico President Bids Adieu to C-store Biz

LINCOLN, Ill. — Illico Inc. President Dave Golwitzer spent more than 40 years in the convenience store industry and he will certainly miss the excitement and challenges it brought. But he said the time was right to let “big operators get bigger” and for he and Illico to focus on other projects.

As CSNews Online reported, Illico sold five large, high-volume central Illinois convenience stores to TravelCenters of America LLC. The sites are currently branded under the Apollo Market banner, but will be all changed to TravelCenter’s Minit Mart brand name by the end of June.

Illico acquired Peoria, Ill.-based Apollo Oil Co. and its c-stores in 1986.

Lincoln-based Illico was founded in 1904 as a gas station and farm supplier. It grew to operate nearly 50 c-stores in central and southern Illinois, including servicing a large multi-branded dealer organization and wholesale fuels.

Effingham, Ill.-based American Business Brokers & Advisors and Normal, Ill.-based W.J.F. Services provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Illico.

Westlake, Ohio-based TravelCenters of America LLC operates 245 travel center locations in 43 states and Canada. It also operates c-stores under the Minit Mart name.