Yesway Unveils Plans for Allsup's Expansion in Oklahoma
FORT WORTH, Texas — Yesway has plans to expand Allsup's existing operational footprint in Oklahoma in 2024.
The convenience store chain currently has five locations across Oklahoma, including sites in Frederick, Guymon, Madill and Altus. Four more c-stores are under construction in Broken Bow, Davis, Tushka and Thackerville, with construction expected to begin on three additional sites next month in Blanchard, Elk City and Kiowa, reported The Oklahoman.
The biggest and most prominent Allsup's in Oklahoma will be located in Thackerville, just minutes from the WinStar Casino & Resort. The store is expected to clock in at 6,277 square feet, and is intended to take advantage of traffic traveling the Interstate 35 corridor while coming to and from the resort, according to Tom Brown, president and director of real estate acquisitions for Yesway, which acquired Allsup's in 2019.
"The Thackerville store was a long time in the making," he said. “As this will be our first 'true' interstate store, we wanted to make sure we got it right. If you look at many of the Allsup's locations, the stores are supported by plenty of rooftops.
"The town of Thackerville is a wonderful small town and we hope the people support the store, but most of the traffic is going to be coming off of Interstate 35. I can tell you after speaking with the workers at the WinStar, they are super excited to have the store in their backyard," he added.
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As with all Allsup's stores, the new Oklahoma locations have an expanded "marketplace" section that offers fresh-cut meats, fruits and vegetables, as well as frozen products and other items typically found in a grocery store.
"We recognized the need for this because in many of the towns in which we operate, the nearest grocery store is a 15-30-minute drive," Brown said, "In addition, we can deliver grocery store pricing on many of our grocery items, because we are supplied by one of the largest grocery co-ops in the Southwest."
Other Expansion Opportunities
With the current plans in place, the total number of Allsup's stores in the Sooner State will be brought to an even dozen by the end of next year, though Brown stated the company will continue to look for expansion opportunities.
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"As we spent more time driving the markets in Oklahoma, we realized that many of the towns were underserved with a good convenience store operator that was focused on customer service and providing quality product with a strong value proposition," Brown said. "Being adjacent to Texas was certainly beneficial, as we discussed the opportunity with our distribution partners and evaluated a number of other internal metrics before making the decision."
Fort Worth-based Yesway's c-store portfolio includes 441 stores in Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Nebraska. It operates primarily under the Yesway and Allsup's brands.