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:

Englefield Oil Co.
Englefield Oil officially reopened its Utica Duchess Shoppe this week at 12 Columbus Road in Utica, Ohio. The company acquired the store in the early 1970s and it was converted into a Duchess Shoppe a few years later. In December 2012, the store was torn down and rebuilt. It reopened in April of this year.

The Utica Duchess Shoppe features 16 fueling stations offering No Lead, Mid Grade, Premium and Diesel high-performance BP fuels, as well as E85. The new store is approximately 4,000 square feet and features a variety of products and an improved food offering with a grander Duchess Deli and Crown Café, Hunt Brothers Pizza, f’real milkshakes and more.

Locali Conscious Convenience
The third location for Los Angeles-based Locali Conscious Convenience will open in Venice, Calif., this fall. The eco-café convenience store concept was started in 2009 by owners Greg Horos and Melissa Rosen and offers a healthy deli, retail freezer, health/beauty area, and a beer and wine section in less than 500 square feet.

Locali's gourmet deli menu caters to vegans, vegetarians and omnivores, and most deli items can be made gluten-free. The retailer’s meats are antibiotic- and hormone-free from certified humanely raised animals. Produce and ingredients are organic and local whenever possible. Some of the chain’s food offerings include the Vegan Baaadass Breakfast Sandwich and Vegetarian Reuben.

"We are serious about providing Americans a venue for better consumption habits. We have intentionally formatted Locali to be a game changer for the quick-service restaurant and natural foods grocery sectors," said Horos.

QuickChek Corp.
Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based QuickChek opened a new, larger store at 640 Washington Ave. in Ulster, N.Y., with more fuel pumps and more than three times as many parking spaces. The company closed its smaller location across the street to make way for this bigger model.

The new 6,584-square-foot store is more than double the size of the old store’s 2,870-square-foot footprint, providing consumers with a larger selection of fresh-brewed coffee, soups and fountain drinks. It also has the first Q Café in the state, with indoor and outdoor seating, and double the fueling stations at 24 pumps.

The new store features 70 parking spaces compared to 19 at the old location to better accommodate customers’ on-site parking requirements and improve their shopping experience, the retailer reported.

QuickChek operates 136 locations throughout New Jersey and southern New York, with 11 locations in the Hudson Valley.

Shop24 Global
Cal Poly Pomona Foundation Inc. (CPPF) has decided to place a Shop24 automated convenience store at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. The store will be installed at University Village, a CPPF-operated student housing facility that caters to more than 1,300 students.

"Shop24 will allow us to serve the residents at the University Village who have not had access to any food services within a reasonable walking distance before. They are very excited about our partnership with Shop24. The integration of our campus card will also allow us to gain better penetration of our Bronco Bucks program in that location," said Aaron Neilson, interim director of dining services.

TravelCenters of America
TravelCenters of America LLC opened a TA truck service facility in Mocksville, N.C., its fifth in the state and 247th throughout North America. The new truck service center is situated off exit 70 on Interstate 40. The location offers three service bays and is open 24/7.

With its addition, the Westlake, Ohio-based company now operates 247 truck service facilities in 42 states and Canada under the TA and Petro names.

The company's truck centers provide light-duty repair, brakes, electrical, alignment, air conditioning, preventive maintenance, inspections and RoadSquad emergency road call services. All TA and Petro:Lube truck centers also carry full lines of Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear and Continental tires.

Additionally, the Mocksville facility will soon begin offering Freightliner ServicePoint, an authorized express service and light-duty repair program available exclusively at TA's service centers in cooperation with Daimler Trucks North America, according to the company.