Fas Mart Acquires Double Kwik
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. -- Fas Mart, operator of approximately 150 convenience stores headquartered here, will acquire the 57-unit Double Kwik convenience chain and convert them to the Fas Mart brand, Tricities.com reported.
Fas Mart parent company, GPM Investments, will operate the stores across southwest Virginia and a few stores in Tennessee, Dave McComas, chief executive officer of GPM, told the site.
"This is a natural extension of where we're at now. We have stores in Martinsville and Danville [Va.]," McComas said. "This is natural growth for us, in this particular market at this particular time."
The Double Kwik chain is owned by Barnette Enterprises, located in Wise, Va. The Double Kwik chain was founded in 1960 by Hogue and Verda Barnette, and the first store was opened in its hometown of Wise, Va., according to the company's Web site. Then, in 1970, the couple’s sons, Earl Wendell Barnette and Jerry Barnette, purchased the chain from their parents, the site stated. The chain is currently operated by Earl Wendell Barnette and Brenda K. Barnette, according to the Web site. Calls to both companies for more information were unreturned by presstime.
"We'll probably add one or two new ones [stores]. We're looking at one site in Tennessee right now, in the Tri-Cities area," McComas told the Web site, adding that the acquisition is expected to be complete by the end of 2007.
"I've known the folks at Double Kwik for a long time," he said. "We're hiring all of the Double Kwik folks. That's a really well-run company, and we're hiring their entire management team."
Fas Mart parent company, GPM Investments, will operate the stores across southwest Virginia and a few stores in Tennessee, Dave McComas, chief executive officer of GPM, told the site.
"This is a natural extension of where we're at now. We have stores in Martinsville and Danville [Va.]," McComas said. "This is natural growth for us, in this particular market at this particular time."
The Double Kwik chain is owned by Barnette Enterprises, located in Wise, Va. The Double Kwik chain was founded in 1960 by Hogue and Verda Barnette, and the first store was opened in its hometown of Wise, Va., according to the company's Web site. Then, in 1970, the couple’s sons, Earl Wendell Barnette and Jerry Barnette, purchased the chain from their parents, the site stated. The chain is currently operated by Earl Wendell Barnette and Brenda K. Barnette, according to the Web site. Calls to both companies for more information were unreturned by presstime.
"We'll probably add one or two new ones [stores]. We're looking at one site in Tennessee right now, in the Tri-Cities area," McComas told the Web site, adding that the acquisition is expected to be complete by the end of 2007.
"I've known the folks at Double Kwik for a long time," he said. "We're hiring all of the Double Kwik folks. That's a really well-run company, and we're hiring their entire management team."