Uphoff Ventures to Open First Florida Uppy's C-store

CHESTER, Va. — Uppy's is coming to Florida. 

Uphoff Ventures will cut the ribbon on the first Uppy's Exxon in Key West, Fla., on April 22. The new convenience store will feature Dion's Quik Chik homemade fried chicken and a Mark VII car wash known as the Uppy's Clean Machine offering soft and touch-free services.

As part of grand opening weekend, customers have a chance to win free car washes for a year among other prizes. In addition, as part of an ongoing promotion, customers will receive 25 cents off each gallon of gas with the purchase of any car wash from the Uppy's Clean Machine.
 
The opening comes a little more than one year after Uphoff Ventures acquired the 68-year-old Dion Oil Co. of Key West and Homestead, Fla. in February 2016, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Through the acquisition of Dion Oil, Uphoff Ventures bought 11 operating Dion Quik Marts in the Florida Keys, including the newest location along with a Dion grocery story in Stock Island. The new Uppy's store will be operated by the Dion retail team based in Key West under the leadership of its President John Cary.

"We are delighted to bring the high-quality Uppy's brand back to Florida," said Steve Uphoff, founder and owner of Uphoff Ventures. "Residents of the Keys and tourists alike will be pleased to know we'll continue to offer the original beloved Dion Quik Chik homemade fried chicken and other fresh deli products."

Uphoff is the founder and former CEO of Uppy's convenience stores and MACS, Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores, ExxonMobil's largest U.S.-branded fuel distributor in 2010. In 1998, he founded Southside Oil, which operated 78 Uppy's c-stores and served 229 ExxonMobil and BP dealer fuel gas stations in Virginia and Maryland.

The Chester-based Uphoff Ventures portfolio of family-owned and -operated companies spans seven states and three countries. The businesses are all co-owned by Linda Uphoff, Steven Uphoff's business partner and wife; his daughter Cassandra Moore; and son-in-law Steven Moore. They are all partners at the Uptown Alley international entertainment venues.