L&L Food Stores Owner Sells Locations to Two Buyers

NASHVILLE, N.C. — Fourteen convenience stores in eastern North Carolina have new owners.

Wayne Land, the owner of L&L Food Stores, sold the c-store chain to two buyers in separate deals, splitting the portfolio down the middle.

Bi-Rite Market convenience store, with a presence in the Battleboro community, purchased seven L&L Food Stores locations and two car washes. Henderson-based Rose Oil Co. purchased the remaining seven stores and one stand-alone car wash, according to the Rocky Mount Telegram.

The stores are located in Rocky Mount, Spring Hope, Castalia, Sharpsburg, Nashville, Sandy Cross, Battleboro and N.C. 97 in Nash County, and Tarboro in Edgecombe County. Land did not disclose the terms of the deal.

"They will have the permission to use the L&L Food Stores name if they so desire up to the next five years," Land told the news outlet.

Land helped start L&L Food Stores in 1973 with one store, and he and his daughters operated the family-owned business for 45 years. Land was working as a district manager for General Mills before he launched the first store with a partner, whom he later bought out.

The new owners have agreed to retain the 170 employees, the report added.

"My daughters have worked in the business all their working time, and my family was 100 percent behind my business," he said. "I didn't want to get out of the convenience store business, but my health reasons led me to getting out. I'm not in position to operate them like they needed to be done."