PHOTO GALLERY — What's In Store: Choice Market, Foxtrot & Tri Star Energy
NATIONAL REPORT — The convenience store industry landscape is constantly changing as chains open and close stores each week. On a regular basis, Convenience Store News highlights these comings and goings in this special roundup.
Choice Market
Choice Market opened its new location at The University of Colorado (CU) Anschutz Medical Campus on Oct. 25. The store will be open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
Choice's first Mini-Mart leverages artificial intelligence and vision systems to check out customers without a cashier and offers fresh meals, locally sourced groceries and everyday necessities. The location also features Choice's Central, a Latin Fusion kitchen serving freshly made tacos, burritos and salads made on-site, and available Monday through Friday.
"Our decision to open at CU Anschutz highlights Choice's commitment to provide fresh and healthy food to those that need it most. The medical community and CU students work tirelessly to serve the greater Denver community," said Mike Fogarty, Choice Market's founder and CEO. "We couldn't be more excited to provide these time-strapped first responders, students, patients and their families with high quality groceries and fresh meals 24x7x365."
The Choice Market shopping experience is powered by Choice Now, a frictionless shopping technology that allows customers to enter their payment information on the Choice app, select their purchases and just walk out. AI-powered ceiling cameras determine what customers have purchased and automatically send an e-receipt to their phone.
Foxtrot
Foxtrot is opening its latest Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area location at Bethesda Row and will officially welcome the public with a grand opening celebration at the Bethesda, Md., store on Nov. 18.
Foxtrot offers its signature all-day café experience, complete with thoughtfully sourced coffee, seasonal café drinks, fresh smoothies, breakfast tacos, chef-prepared salads and bowls, and grab-and-go meals for lunch and dinner. The store also contains local craft beers and fine wines hand-selected by an in-house sommelier. All of its offerings, including everyday essentials, are available in-store, for pickup and with on-demand delivery through the brand's app.
The 4,000-square-foot space's renovation was reimagined by Foxtrot's in-house design team in partnership with Studio Saint as interior designer. The location also boasts an outdoor patio where guests can enjoy a glass of wine or a quick bite. During the cold winter months, visitors can take a seat at the oak bar, at the stone counters or a variety of indoor seating options in the main dining area.
Foxtrot currently has 22 locations across Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Dallas, with plans to continue expansion in both existing and new markets this fall.
The Goods Mart
The Goods Mart, a socially conscious convenience store and newsstand, is now ringing up customers at its third New York location at 11 W. 42nd Street in the famed Salmon Tower Building.
Founder Rachel Krupa opened The Goods Mart in 2018 with a mission to introduce the community to better-for-you, better-for-the-planet products while providing a platform for the small, emerging brands. The Goods Mart offers better-for-you snacks, drinks and everyday products with a focus on female- and minority-owned brands. Products are environmentally friendly and 100 percent of tips go to a rotating monthly nonprofit.
The other two locations are in Soho and Rockefeller Center.
Neon Marketplace
New industry player Neon Marketplace opened its fifth convenience store in New England. The store in Freetown, Mass., joins one other location in Massachusetts and three in Rhode Island.
The newest location is the company's first truck stop location. It offers a gas station that includes diesel and electric vehicle charging stations, indoor seating and a Dunkin' restaurant.
The retailer plans to open two more stores this year, one each in Providence, R.I., and Quincy, Mass. Plans also call for roughly seven new locations next year.
Petro Travel Plaza
NRC Realty & Capital Advisors LLC announced the sale of a travel plaza at 900 Petro Drive in Rochelle, Ill. The 28-acre travel plaza has been operated as a Petro Travel Plaza, under a franchise of TravelCenters of America LLC, and the buyer will continue to operate under the franchise.
The full-service travel center features a trucker's store, Iron Skillet restaurant, a Hub City Deli, three-bay truck wash, five-bay truck service/repair, movie theater, truck scales and 10 gaming terminals. It boasts parking for 390 trucks, 130 cars, 10 RVs and four buses.
Built in 1992, the main building contains 28,000 square feet. In addition to the travel center, the sale includes contiguous 29 acres suitable for a budget hotel or expansion of the existing facility.
The sellers were Malcolm Anderberg and Clyde Gelderloos, who opened the truck stop in 1992. The buyer was Mike Boparai, a truck operator, investor and quick-service restaurant owner from Stockton, Calif.
QuikTrip Corp.
QuikTrip welcomed customers at its third convenience store in Colorado. The new store is located in Bennett, east of Aurora.
The convenience retailer opened its first two stores in the Denver area this past summer, one at the intersection of Interstate 25 and Firestone Boulevard, and the other at Interstate 70 and Central Park Boulevard.
QuikTrip announced its planned move into the Mile High City in in the spring of 2019. A year following the announcement, the c-store chain said it planned to open 50 to 70 locations in the Denver metro area.
Trillium Energy Solutions
Trillium Energy Solutions, a member of the Love's family of companies, opened a new public compressed natural gas (CNG) station in Miami. The retail station was able to open with the strong partnership between Trillium and the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW), according to the company.
The new Florida-DTPW CNG Fueling Station on Coral Way will be operated and maintained by Trillium and support 560 of the 748 buses the county operates, a bus wash and chassis lift for the county's use, as well as a CNG fueling station that is open to the public.
"Trillium started fueling DTPW buses in 2018 and we are excited to continue our partnership with them to support their commercial fleet's CNG refueling needs as well as the public's needs," said Ryan Erickson, Trillium's vice president. "DTPW's CNG buses serve important needs of local economies in ensuring reliable public transportation, so it's critical their vehicles are operating efficiently. We were able to balance their needs and our experience from operating 216 CNG refueling stations, to identify ways they can shrink their carbon footprint and control operating costs."
Tri Star Energy
Tri Star Energy celebrated the ribbon-cutting of a Twice Daily convenience store and White Bison Coffee in Gallatin, Tenn., in late September. The concept combines Twice Daily's convenience store and White Bison Coffee's artisan coffee beverages and fresh, handcrafted café menu.
In addition to traditional convenience items, Twice Daily's premium offerings range from grab-and-go snacks, including organic brands, to a selection of staple groceries. A fresh deli case provides handmade and healthy options featuring fruits, sandwiches, salads and snacks. Additional offerings include doughnuts and pastries, freshly prepared breakfast and lunch sandwiches and an extensive beer cave featuring local and craft beers.
The White Bison Coffee concept offers expertly roasted, handcrafted specialty coffee drinks, such as drip coffee, single origin pour-over coffees, cold brew, nitro coffee, hot and cold espresso beverages, seasonal drinks and more. Guests can also enjoy freshly baked pastries and handmade breakfast and lunch items, including sandwiches, salads and Bistro snack boxes.
The Twice Day Thrive program donated trees to the Gallatin Parks and Recreation Department, and White Bison Coffee provided a monetary donation to Safe Haven Family Shelter to celebrate the new location.
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