F.L. Roberts Buys Back Sunoco Service Stations and Car Washes

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- F. L. Roberts & Co. bought back 12 Sunoco-branded service station properties, including seven car washes, it originally sold to Sunoco Inc. nearly two decades ago, the company reported.

The 19 acquired business operations in Western Massachusetts include eight Sunoco company-operated service stations, with four F.L. Roberts-operated Golden Nozzle car washes on-site and four F.L. Roberts-operated service stations, with three F.L. Roberts-operated Golden Nozzle car washes on-site.

All sites officially opened under the local company's ownership yesterday.

"It is extremely exciting for me personally to repurchase these properties, most of which our family bought and developed over the past 30 years," Steven M. Roberts, president of the company, said in a released statement. "We are also looking forward to expanding our relationship with Sunoco Inc., while at the same time offering F.L. Roberts and Sunoco brand gasoline customers more opportunities to benefit from our new customer rewards program, as well as our partnership with Big Y."

The fourth generation, 90-year-old family company recently closed and/or sold six locations, but with the addition of the new Sunoco stations, its holdings in the gas and convenience store business have held strong at approximately 30 locations, the company reported.

The majority of the gas and convenience locations in the F.L. Roberts network of automotive services are branded Sunoco, Mobil or Valero, and five of the Roberts gas stations bear the company's name and sell F. L. Roberts brand gasoline, according to the company.

The newly purchased locations, which will remain under the Sunoco brand, will be part of the company's new customer rewards program launched earlier this year -- the F.L. Roberts RewardsPLUS card -- which allows customers to earn points at F.L. Roberts' businesses to be redeemed for discounts on gas. The company has also partnered with grocery chain Big Y and accepts their "coins" for additional savings at the pump, the company stated.

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