What's In Store: Love's, TravelCenters & Street Corner

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.

Fuel City

The Fuel City convenience store chain is adding a Little Caesars franchise to its Saginaw Fuel City in Saginaw, Texas. The store, the chain's fourth, is currently under development.

At 14,000 square feet, the Saginaw site will be Fuel City's largest store to date. In addition to Little Caesars, the store's food offerings will include fresh fried pies, the convenience store's signature street tacos and, in another Fuel City first, a hamburger dubbed "The King Burger."

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores had a busy May, opening locations across the country. Love's Travel Stop in South Hutchinson, Kan., opened for business in mid-May, making it the company's 24th location in that state. The new Love's is located at U.S. Highway 50 and South Main Street.  

The South Hutchinson location includes a SONIC Drive-In, complete with indoor seating, a drive-thru and drive-in stalls, as well as truck-parking spaces, showers and other services and amenities for professional drivers.

One week later, the retailer cut the ribbon on its fifth location in Washington State and its 62nd location in Texas. The Prosser, Wash., travel stop is located at Interstate 82 and Gap Road. It features a Carl's Jr. restaurant and a Love's Truck Tire Care center. 

The new Paris, Texas, is located at U.S. Highway 271 and Main Street. It features Chester's Chicken and Godfather's Pizza restaurants, as well as public laundry facilities. Combined, the two locations add more than 120 truck-parking spaces to busy interstates and highways.

In June, the retailer opened a new location in Wisconsin. The new Love's in the Wilson Township area of Sheboygan, Wis. Located at Interstate 43 and South Business Drive, the travel stop offers Subway and Hardee's restaurants and a Love's Truck Tire Care center. 

The new location is Love's sixth store in Wisconsin.

Parker's

Parker's opened a new convenience store in Jesup, Ga. The store, located at 4501 Savannah Hwy., is the company's 49th location.

The new Jesup store features a signature Parker's hot deli serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, including popular offerings prepared fresh on-site. The store sells high-quality Parker's gas as well as the company's legendary Chewy Ice, fountain drinks, freshly brewed tea and lemonade, gourmet coffee, fruit, salads, and 28-degree beer, vape products, cell phone accessories and more. 

Parker's is in the middle of a five-year plan to exceed $1 billion in annual sales. The company currently has three stores under construction and 30 sites in process in Georgia and South Carolina.

Sheetz Inc.

Sheetz Inc. opened the doors on a new Pennsylvania convenience store. The store in West Hanover Township, located at 7970 Linglestown Road, welcomed its first customers on June 22. The chain has acquired a liquor license for the store and will add beer and wine sales to the c-store in the future.

Street Corner

Street Corner has signed its first territory representative in a move to expand the chain in the San Diego metropolitan area. The first area store, an "Urban Superette," is slated to open in the under-development Shift complex in East Village next year.

Vikram Dhillon, the master franchisee for the area, plans 12 and possibly as many as 19 more stores in San Diego and Imperial counties over the next five years. The locations will be a combination of additional Urban Superettes, standalone convenience stores with gas, and the traditional mall stores upon which Street Corner was built. 

"This is a significant milestone both for Street Corner and the San Diego region, as it will bring a new style of high-end convenience store to the area," said Peter La Colla, Street Corner's CEO. 

"In some neighborhoods, particularly populous ones with a critical mass of millennials looking to dine, shop, and entertain themselves close to where they live, these will be a handy and practical alternative to a large grocery store. And our finish-to-order concept will stand in stark contrast to the prepackaged salads and hot dogs on a roller of the well-worn convenience chains," he added.

TravelCenters of America

The TA Restaurant Group welcomed customers at a new Burger King restaurant located in Pearsall, Texas. Guests can choose from any of the full menu options, including burgers and chicken sandwiches, in addition to a variety of breakfast and salad options. 

The restaurant dining room has seating for 74 people, a staff of 28 employees, and is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The Pearsall location is the 31st Burger King restaurant operated by the TA Restaurant Group, and its eighth in Texas.

Wawa Inc.

Wawa Inc. continues to build up its Philadelphia footprint with plans for its fifth Center City c-store to open in spring 2018.

The 6,200-square-foot store will be on the ground floor of the East Market mixed-use development on Market Street. It will offer the chain's latest foodservice offerings including build-to-order salads, and fresh baked breads and pastries.