Enmarket Parent Company Makes Its 100-Year Mark on Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Enmarket's parent company has left its mark on its hometown history.

On July 21, Colonial Group Inc. celebrated 100 years in business by unveiling a historical marker in cooperation with the Georgia Historical Society (GHS) on the site of Colonial's first service station in the Savannah's historic district.

"When my great grandfather, Raymond McAllister Demere, returned to Savannah after serving in World War I, he saw the popularity of the automobile increasing along with the demand for automotive fuel," Christian Demere, Colonial Group's president and CEO. "He purchased a 55-gallon barrel of oil and founded Savannah's first independent wholesale petroleum company on July 21, 1921. Two years later he opened his first service station in Savannah and from there, what would become Colonial Group's diverse family of companies was born out of the growing demand for petroleum products and the evolution that ensued."

Representing third and fourth generations of the family-owned business, Raymond McAllister Demere, along with his father, Robert H. Demere Jr., chairman; and his brother, Houstoun Demere, vice president of business development for Colonial's Savannah Yacht Center; unveiled the marker. They were joined by State Sen. Ben Watson (R-1st District), Mayor Van Johnson, and W. Todd Groce, president and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society (GHS).

The historical marker reads, in part:

"Raymond McAllister Demere founded the American Oil Company on July 21, 1921, as Savannah's first independent wholesale petroleum company, and he opened his first service station at this site in 1923. Renamed Colonial Oil in 1933, the company is now known as Colonial Group, Inc."

It also acknowledges a business that has grown to become one of America's largest privately held companies.

"The Georgia Historical Society is pleased to recognize this iconic Georgia-based company and the lasting impact it has had on our state and nation since 1921," Groce said. "Colonial Group's sustained, century-long growth is testament to what can happen when you have all the right ingredients for success: great products, excellent succession planning, outstanding intergenerational leadership, and entrepreneurial vision. I am particularly excited about the classroom resources we have developed to tell the Colonial Group story to Georgia students."

GHS created a case study and company profile about Colonial as an educational resource for Georgia middle school students, which will be available to educators beginning with the fall 2021 school year.

As the company prepared to observe its 100th anniversary this year, its leadership was encouraged to research and document its history and create an archive of those findings. A historian and local writers worked with many of Colonial's employees and retirees to develop a book about the company's first 100 years. The project is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.

Additionally, Colonial Group commissioned a commemorative logo that will be used for several years to observe the company's centennial of service.

"Colonial Group has evolved from my great grandfather's original mission of providing petroleum products to my grandfather's expansion to commercial and retail markets, then to my father's diversification of the company into other industries from dry bulk commodities such as kaolin and the storage and distribution of chemical products," Raymond McAllister Demere said. "Today, our core competencies are in intermodal logistics, transportation, storage, and distribution of both petroleum-based and many other types of liquid and dry bulk products. We will continue to leverage these competencies in our second century of service and build new ones that add value."

Savannah-based Colonial Group is the umbrella company of Colonial Oil, Colonial Terminals, Colonial Fuel & Lubricant Services, Enmark Stations/enmarket, Colonial Compliance Systems, Colonial Energy, Colonial Chemical Solutions, Colonial Towing, Savannah Yacht Center and Aqua Smart.

Enmarket operates approximately 129 convenience stores, 14 quick-serve restaurants and two fast-casual restaurants in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.