What's In Store: Openings & Closings

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.

Here are the latest company spotlights:

Kum & Go LC

A new, 4,991-square-foot Kum & Go truck stop is slated to be built in Craig, Colo., near the Moffat County Fairgrounds. This new build will take the place of an existing Kum & Go store located at 700 E. Victory Way, the Craig Daily Press reported.

The facility will be built on 108,055 square feet and have 8,644 square feet of landscaping with 35,785 square feet of native grass areas, according to city documents. It will also have more than the minimum required parking spaces for a building of its size, totaling 37 parking spots and two handicap spaces.

A bike rack also will be available for community members on the north side of the building.

Royal Farms

Baltimore-based Royal Farms, with 153 locations in four states, is opening its sixth location in Pennsylvania. The 4,100-square-foot facility, which has been in the works since 2005, will offer inside seating and carry-out food, as well as six, double-sided gas pumps and outside vacuums on the 3.61-acre site, the Evening Sun reported.

"We're excited to finally be able to open up in Littlestown," said Frank Schilling, director of marketing and merchandising for Royal Farms. "I believe folks will like what we bring to the community."

The Littlestown store will feature a surcharge-free ATM, a redbox DVD rental machine, Pennsylvania Lottery tickets and state-minimum pricing for cigarettes.

The store has been in the works since 2005, as the company and borough negotiated on numerous issues, including the location of the entrances and exits, and the width of the surrounding sidewalks. There also were concerns about left turns out of the store's parking lot onto northbound Route 97.

The store will celebrate its grand opening after officially opening its doors on July 25.

Sheetz Inc.

Sheetz Inc. plans to open three new stores in High Point, N.C., with construction kicking off this fall, the High Point Enterprise reported.

Construction will begin first on two of the convenience stores — one at the intersection of Westchester Drive and West Lexington Avenue and the other on South Main Street at Nathan Hunt Drive. The third location — at North Main Street and Old Plank Road — is in the early planning stages and isn’t expected to start construction until 2015.

The Altoona, Pa.-based retailer has approximately 50 c-stores in North Carolina currently, including one on N.C. 68 in the northern part of High Point.

Both stores beginning construction this year will be about the same size, but the South Main Street location will include a car wash. In addition to gas pumps, all three new stores will include a restaurant.

United Supermarkets LLC

United Supermarkets LLC opened its newest freestanding convenience store, a United Express location in Dumas, Texas. The 2,400-square-foot store is located on Highway 87/287, east of the company’s United Supermarkets location in Guylane Plaza. Store hours will mirror that of the main store, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

The Dumas location marks the company’s seventh freestanding convenience store and its second in the Texas Panhandle area. Four of the freestanding c-stores are under the United Express banner, while the other three are still under the Taste of Market Street name and will be converted to United Express in the coming months, according to the company.

The chain’s newest location features a drive-thru window that offers specialty coffee and tea service using the company’s own Arriba brand. A full line of made-to-order coffees and teas – including lattés, smoothies and frappes – is also available both inside the store and via the drive-thru.

Additionally, the store includes a five-pump (10-dispenser) fuel station offering both gasoline and diesel. On top of traditional convenience items (fountain drinks, grab-and-go food, propane tank refills, etc.), it also offers a wide assortment of “fresh to-go” items made inside the main store – including breakfast burritos and hot sandwiches -- along with fresh fruit, f’real milkshakes and other frozen beverages.

Wawa Inc.

Wawa Inc. continues to expand its presence in Florida, opening a new store in Seminole at 9501 Bay Pines Blvd., which is just west of the Tyrone Square Mall. This store is the company's first in the state to offer ethanol-free fuel as an option for the nearby boating communities. The ethanol-free fuel is offered as a choice alongside Wawa's full fuel offer.