Speedway Eyes Expansion Into Pennsylvania, Tennessee

PITTSBURGH -- Western Pennsylvania is buzzing with convenience store and gas station growth activity, with Speedway LLC emerging as the latest industry retailer looking to boost its presence in the market.

The Enon, Ohio-based company is reportedly looking at sites in seven communities where it may put c-stores with gas stations, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The areas on the company's radar include Delmont, Unity and Hempfield, Daniel Hewitt, a Latrobe, Pa.- based attorney, shared with the news outlet.

"They seem to be coming in full scale," said Hewitt, who has had meetings with Speedway representatives this month about the various locations.

Speedway wants to expand into Pennsylvania and Tennessee, spokesman Shane Pochard said. He declined to talk about specific areas or how many locations the company is considering. "Speedway is interested in expanding beyond the seven states that we currently serve," Pochard told the Tribune-Review. "We're in the stage of evaluating the options in the market.

The convenience store chain, which is a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corp., has approximately 1,460 stores in seven states throughout the Midwest: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Speedway's interest in western Pennsylvania follows on the heels of 7-Eleven Inc.'s move to expand its footprint in the region. In October, the Dallas-based c-store chain closed on acquisitions of EZ Energy USA and Handee Marts Inc., a 7-Eleven licensee, as CSNews Online previously reported. Combined, these deals gave 7-Eleven 125 convenience stores in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, northern West Virginia and western Maryland.