What's In Store: Cumberland Farms, NOCO Express & Stewart's Shops

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.

Cumberland Farms

Cumberland Farms held a grand opening for a next-generation convenience store on Main Street in Sanford, Maine on Oct. 3.

In addition to new architectural features and a modernized layout, the store offers an expanded food menu with a variety of specialty items, including ciabatta sandwiches, frittatas, melts and macaroni and cheese.

The 4,794-square-foot location also features kiosk ordering, interior high-top bar counters, outdoor patio seating, four fueling pumps, and 26 parking spaces.

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores

Love's Travel Stops added truck parking, and other services and amenities to a new area of Virginia with the opening of a new travel stop in Talleysville on Sept. 21. The new store is approximately 20 miles east of Richmond on Interstate 64.

The Talleysville store marks Love's ninth travel stop in Virginia. It features an Arby's restaurant, seven showers, 86 truck parking spaces, a game room, public laundry facilities, Love's Truck Tire Care center and more. The new store is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The retailer also reopened a Love's Travel Stop along U.S. Highway 290 in Waller, Texas. The store closed in December after sustaining fire damage.

The locations' Arby's restaurant underwent reimaging and features the newest restaurant branding in the dining area, in addition to a new kitchen. The remodeled travel stop offers more food selections, including roller grill items and fresh sandwiches.

Customers can also enjoy expanded space and touch-free amenities in the restrooms. The travel stop offers five showers and 75 truck parking spaces for professional drivers.

In addition to travel stops, Love's commodity supply, trading, and logistics arm Musket Corp. added four bulk diesel fluid (DEF) facilities across the United States. The DEF wholesale bulk racks are now open in Aurora, Colo.; Quakertown, Pa.; Lebanon, Tenn.; and El Paso, Texas.

"These strategically placed DEF racks give our customers 24/7 access to a high-quality product," said Brian Hoover, manager of DEF for Musket. "Each site is selected based on demand from customers at nearby Love's locations and third-party wholesale customers, combined with the lack of DEF production infrastructure to support the growing market. These new facilities allow us to effectively supply the stores with DEF and provide a much needed redundancy of supply."

The newest terminals bring Musket's number of DEF locations to 12. All facilities are located close to Love's Travel Stops.

NOCO Express

NOCO Express completed renovations at its store located at 5114 Transit Road in Depew, N.Y. The month-long interior and exterior remodel features an updated look, and expanded fresh and convenient food offerings.

"We are always looking at ways to enhance the convenience store experience for our customers," said Jim DeFilippis, vice president and general manager, NOCO Express. "Our Depew area customers will notice a more inviting store with an increased selection of fresh, grab and go meal and snack options to choose from."

The interior remodel included a transformation to a new open footprint for better visibility of products displayed throughout the store. A cooler island features freshly prepared and pre-packaged sandwiches, salads, wraps, and snack packs from NOCO's signature Nickel City Foods.

Customers can also find an expanded beer selection, including a variety from local breweries. New wall graphics installed throughout the store add to the overall refreshed look.

The exterior of the Depew location also received an update.

QuikTrip Corp.

QuikTrip Corp. is planning to build a convenience store and gas station at the Bethany Greenville Retail Center in Allen, Texas. The store will be the Tulsa, Okla.-based retailer's first in Allen.

According to the plans, the QuikTrip will rise between two 7,000-square-feet retail stores at a 45-degree angle to the intersection of Bethany Drive and Greenville Avenue.

Stewart's Shops

New York-based Stewart's Shops has opened a new convenience store in Charlton, N.Y., across the street from its previous location. The bigger store serves fresh pizza and made-to-order subs, and features indoor seating, and expanded fuel service.

The retailer held a grand opening on Oct. 6, with 50-cent coffee, single-scoop ice cream cones and deli dogs. In addition, motorists received a 10-cent discount on gas, including diesel, kerosene and premium non-ethanol.

In addition, Stewart's Shops opened a new c-store on Brandywine Avenue in Schenectady, N.Y., in late September. The retailer built the new store next to a previous Stewart's Shops location, which is being razed to make way for a gas island and additional parking. That construction was expected to wrap up by the end of October.

In another opening in September, the retailer cut the ribbon on a new North Creek, N.Y., store. The location, which saw the removal of roughly 20,000 tons of rock, opened down the road from a previous store.

The North Creek c-store features freshly made pizza, pie and by the slice, and made-to-order subs. It also boasts a beer cave, indoor seating, plus expanded parking and fuel service, including diesel, kerosene and premium non-ethanol.

Stewart's Shops also celebrated the opening of its new location in Plattsburgh, N.Y. In addition to freshly made pizza, made-to-order subs and a beer cave, the store features a beverage bar with espresso and iced tea.

TA Restaurant Group

The TA Restaurant Group, a division of TravelCenters of America LLC, welcomed customers at a new Popeyes restaurant and Dunkin' Donuts with a drive-thru at a travel center located on Interstate 10 in Mobile, Ala.

The Popeyes restaurant dining room has seating for 40 people and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dunkin' Donuts has seating for 21 people and is open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Mobile Popeyes and Dunkin' Donuts are the 67th and 10th Popeyes and Dunkin' Donuts restaurants respectively operated by the TA Restaurant Group, and the sixth Popeyes and second Dunkin' operated by the group in Alabama.

Wawa Inc.

Wawa Inc. is continuing its Florida expansion with the opening of two stores, one in Parkland on Oct. 5, and a second in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 12.

The 5,500-square-foot convenience stores have touchscreen ordering kiosks, beer caves, fee-free ATMs and 16 fuel pumps.