Sinclair's Dino Finds New Stomping Ground

MOUNT OLIVE, N.J. — After visiting the area during last year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, Sinclair Oil Corp.'s familiar mascot is moving into the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area.

M. Spiegel & Sons Oil Corp. of Tuxedo, N.Y. — and its SOS Xtreme Comfort and SOS Fuels units — is leading the charge to bring the Sinclair fuel brand and its mascot, Dino, back to the East Coast.

In January, the family-owned distributorship helped open the first new Sinclair station in New York since 1970, according to the Mount Olive Chronicle. At one point in its history, the family operated roughly 200 Sinclair stations.

In neighboring New Jersey, the Sinclair brand has also appeared at two new service stations in Budd Lake, a section of Mount Olive. These Spiegel-supplied locations were converted in June. Both are now owned by brothers, Faraz and Muhammad Sarfaraz. Additionally, another Spiegel-supplied location in Netcong, N.J., was rebranded to Sinclair in September. 

Five more Spiegel-supplied locations in New York and New Jersey are slated to be converted to the Sinclair brand in the coming months, the news outlet reported.

Salt Lake City-based Sinclair Oil recently set out on a path to expand and gain a national presence. As Convenience Store News reported in its December 2015 issue, the family-owned company — which was founded on May 1, 1916 — currently comprises roughly 400 branded distributors and more than 1,325 stations, which are mostly concentrated west of the Mississippi River.

With a new brand licensing program, though, Sinclair has its sights set on having a national presence once again, expanding east of the Mississippi and marketing its fuel coast to coast, according to Jack Barger, vice president of marketing and supply for Sinclair.  The last time the brand was national was in the mid-1970s, he told CSNews. 

This spring, Sinclair publicly stated that its future includes "ambitious plans to grow by more than 100 percent," with an aggressive growth campaign rolling out through 2024.