PHOTO GALLERY: Yesway Unveils New Allsup's Concept Store
FORT WORTH, Texas — Yesway unveiled a new Allsup's concept convenience store in Lubbock, near Texas Tech University.
Allsup's Express will begin ringing up customers on Tuesday, Aug. 16. The 3,000-square-foot bodega-style store will be open Sunday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to midnight, and 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday through Saturday.
With its proximity to Texas Tech University, the Allsup's Express will focus on serving the university community and students with an assortment of merchandise offerings tailored to meet their needs, including food, beverages and everyday products.
Customers can also join the Allsup's Rewards program that offers a mobile order ahead and pickup program and personalized digital engagement.
In addition to an array of cold vault items, the store features fountain drinks, hot to go and fresh meals, as well as the retailer's well-known Allsup's Burrito and taco sauce.
In advance of the store opening, Yesway launched an Allsup's Burrito Ambassadors influencer marketing program, which was showcased on the brand's Instagram. The program deployed street teams in the area to ramp up attention around the launch, and offered novel grand opening activities, including a VIP Dignitary Private preview event with a DJ spinning vinyl on Aug. 15, and grassroots coupon book giveaways.
The official Allsup's Express grand opening celebrations begin Sept. 7 and continue through Sept. 11.
"With over a half dozen Yesway stores in the Lubbock market already selling the beloved Allsup's burrito, we see the Allsup's Express brand expansion as an exciting and fresh opportunity to meet the needs of the college students," said Tom Trkla, CEO of Yesway.
"Our customers are so important to us, and we could not think of a more enthusiastic and welcoming community in which to debut this exciting new concept store and satisfy some of Allsup's biggest fans. We look forward to serving you," he added.
Yesway has been busy with new store openings this summer. Last week it opened three convenience stores in Texas — in Colorado City, Claude and San Angelo — and one in and Carlsbad, N.M. All four new-to-industry Allsup's stores have 5,630 square feet of merchandising space, 24 fueling positions and high-speed diesel fueling lanes as well.
These are just the latest of the new large-format stores Yesway has developed and is bringing to market. The stores are open 24 hours per day and offer Allsup's burritos; a full array of Yesway and Allsup's private label snacks; a new trucker/automotive section; high-quality fresh Allsup's bread, milk and eggs; and a beer cave. Amenities include Western Union service, ATM availability and Coin Cloud digital currency machines offering 30-plus digital currencies.
"We have been renovating, rebuilding and constructing our Allsup's and Yesway stores at a furious pace this year, and it is thanks to our talented team that we have been able to do so," Trkla said.
Fort Worth-based Yesway's portfolio now stands at 410 stores in Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Nebraska, including the Allsup's Convenience Store chain. That total includes 30 new-to-industry and relocated stores opened to date in 2022.