Yesway Opens First Store as Part of Accelerated Real Estate Investment Campaign
FORT WORTH, Texas — Yesway cut the grand opening ribbon at its second Allsup's Market prototype, marking the initial launch of the convenience store retailer's accelerated real estate investment campaign.
The second Allsup's Market, located at 160 E 8th St. in Vaughn, N.M., boasts nearly 5,000 square feet and features 20 fueling positions. It replaces an older 2,400-square-foot Allsup's store and is the first new store opening since Yesway acquired the Allsup's c-store chain last November.
During the grand opening celebration, which was held the first week of November, customers received numerous grocery giveaways, free Pepsi drinks and Frito-Lay chips, well as the chance to win several major prizes, including a 55-inch Sony TV and Samsung Sound Bar, a barbecue grill, an iPad, a Sony PS4 Pro, a Go Pro Hero$ Camera, and Allsup's milk for a year.
Customers also received merchandise specials on some of Allsup's best-selling products such as "Tallsup's" cold drinks, sausage biscuits, Allsup's white or wheat bread, and any size of Allsup's coffee or cappuccino — all for only 49 cents.
"The Vaughn Allsup's Market concept store will now offer our customers a greatly expanded selection of grocery and perishable items, including fresh, never frozen meat and produce, naturally-produced milk, frozen foods, baby items and much more," said Tom Trkla, Yesway's chairman and CEO. "These new product selections are a much-desired addition to our already terrific assortment of Allsup's favorite snacks, sodas, private label products, and hot foods, including, of course, our world famous Allsup's burrito. We are pleased to be able to give our loyal customers more of what they love about Allsup's."
Last month, Fort Worth-based Yesway raised an additional $235 million of equity capital, $135 million of which was to be invested in targeted real estate capital projects.
"Over the past nine months, Mark Allsup, Greg Gardner, and I looked at every Yesway and Allsup's store in our portfolio and identified older and smaller format stores in existing markets that we believed could benefit from larger format stores with an expanded fuel and diesel presence," said Yesway Director of Real Estate Tom Brown. "Over the course of the next 18 months, we will complete the raze and rebuilds in 27 locations, resulting in new 5,500 square foot prototype stores in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, all of which will have expanded fuel and diesel platforms.”
According to Brown, Yesway's raze-and-rebuild program provides the company with a unique opportunity to build new prototype stores on the sites of existing Allsup's stores because it typically owns land adjacent to the stores, allowing Yesway to keep the existing store open while its commences construction of the new store, with little or no impact on inside sales and fuel volumes.
Construction on the next five raze and rebuild stores will commence shortly in Walls, Bangs, Tuscola, Decatur and Slaton, Texas.
In addition to the raze-and-rebuild program, Yesway has commenced the major remodeling of approximately 100 additional Yesway and Allsup's stores in Texas and New Mexico. The extensive improvements include:
- Exterior upgrades to store fronts, parking lots and signage;
- The addition of LED lighting under the canopy and inside the stores; and
- Upgrades to store interiors, fountain and beverage areas, and bathrooms.
These improvements are being made to better serve its customers by providing an expanded selection of merchandise and, in the case of the existing Yesway stores in Texas and New Mexico, being able to sell the Allsup's burrito and hot food platform, along with Allsup's bread, milk and eggs.
Yesway is also looking to add to its growing portfolio by building brand new stores in selected communities in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Dakota. To this end, the company has commenced land acquisition, design and planning of six stores in markets in which it currently has a presence and in, as well as new markets.
While much of the company's top line growth will be fueled by expansion within the existing portfolio in the coming months, the company is still actively looking at portfolios representing roughly 200 stores in its current geographic footprint, Yesway stated.
Yesway is the operating retail arm of BW Gas & Convenience Retail LLC. It has 402 c-stores located in Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Nebraska.