What's In Store: ARKO Corp., Enmarket & Love's Travel Stops
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.
[Read more: What's In Store: Foxtrot, Haffner's & Parker's Kitchen]
ARKO Corp.
ARKO Corp. subsidiary GPM Investments LLC broke ground on a new Fast Market store at 1655 East Queens Creek Road in Gilbert, Ariz.
Scheduled to open later this year, the location will be a 5,600-square-foot convenience store, with a sleek exterior and spacious interior. Food and beverage service options will include bean-to-cup hot and iced coffee, Frazil frozen drinks, doughnuts, cookies, breakfast sandwiches, Nathan's hot dogs, Tornados, fried chicken, cheeseburgers, mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, and, for fas REWARDS members, the brand's signature $4.99 pizza and $2.99 Tyson chicken sandwich.
[Read more: ARKO Maintains Momentum of Key Marketing & In-Store Initiatives]
"We are very excited to open our 65th Fast Market store, featuring the items of which our company and family of community brands have become so proud," said Arie Kotler, president and CEO of ARKO. "This location will be offering many new menu items as we evolve our food service that we know our customers will love."
The new location will also feature more than 35 parking spaces, four electric vehicle charging ports and seven fuel dispensers, providing 14 gas fueling points and four diesel fueling points.
Enmarket
The first new Enmarket store of 2024 opened its doors at the intersection of White Bluff Road and Eisenhower Drive in Savannah, Ga., bringing the total count of Enmarket convenience stores to 131.
The store employs more than 25 people on site and features a 12-pump canopy with multiple fuel grades, including unleaded, mid-grade, premium, nonethanol and diesel. A new Marketwash car wash is situated at the east end of the property and offers customers multiple car wash package options.
The 6,098-square-foot c-store features an Enmarket Eatery, which boasts a Southern-inspired menu of fresh, on-the-go offerings, such as breakfast burritos, fish and grits, fried chicken, pecan cobblers and sausage gravy pizza. This location additionally serves Mooz frozen yogurt, fresh salads, sandwiches and bean-to-cup coffee.
Enmarket has committed to preserving a 300-year-old live oak that occupies the property. The company worked with Bartlett Tree Services to determine the tree's age and conservation techniques. Bartlett then pruned the tree and installed a lighting protection and cabling system on the property, as well as soil care amendments. To highlight the live feature, Enmarket plans to install outdoor seating under the tree's canopy.
Love's Travel Stops
Love's Travel Stops opened a new location in St. Augustine, Fla., rebuilt an existing location in Troutdale, Ore., and cut the ribbon on five new Speedco locations.
The St. Augustine site is open 24/7 and offers fresh food and drinks, Love's-branded snacks and a Hardee's. The location adds 63 truck parking spaces to Love's network, along with four RV parking spaces.
The 24/7 location in Troutdale was rebuilt from the ground up and offers similar amenities, along with a Chester's Fried Chicken, 44 truck parking spaces and four RV parking spaces.
In honor of the grand openings, Love's donated $5,000 to a local nonprofit in St. Augustine, and split a $5,000 donation between Transformative Living Community International and Reynolds High School in the Troutdale area.
In addition to the five new Speedco sites, Love's also completed upgrades to two existing maintenance shops. These investments add 23 service bays and 10 service trucks to the company's over-the-road preventive maintenance and total truck care network.
The new and remodeled locations can be found next to Love's Travel Stops in:
- Nogales, Ariz. (new)
- St. Augustine (new)
- Waco, Ga. (remodeled)
- Michigan City, Ind. (new)
- Canton, Miss. (remodeled)
- Picayune, Miss. (new)
- Watertown, N.Y. (new)
These locations all offer tire, lube, light mechanical services, roadside services and Department of Transportation inspections for professional drivers and fleets.
Parker's Kitchen
Parker's Kitchen opened a new location at 140 Jefferson Davis Highway in Aiken, S.C., — the first of many stores planned for the region — and hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony at a new site in Charleston, S.C., at 1776 Ashley River Road.
"We're absolutely thrilled to open our first Parker's Kitchen location in Aiken and are deeply committed to being a great neighbor in every community where we operate stores," said Parker's Kitchen Founder and CEO Greg Parker. "We think Aiken is an incredibly exciting market and have already received a very positive response about our newest store on Jefferson Davis Highway."
Both stores offer the company's Southern-inspired food prepared fresh on-site, including hand-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders, mac and cheese, and a complete menu of breakfast offerings. The stores also feature Lowcountry-inspired designs with contemporary glass-front facades, lime-washed brick, handsome bracketry, designer lighting and clean bathrooms.
[Read more: Parker's Kitchen Earns Top Workplace for 2024 Honor]
The Aiken location offers 16 fueling positions with unleaded, premium unleaded and ethanol-free fuel. As part of the store's opening celebration, the company will make a Fueling the Community donation to Aiken County Public Schools.
Parker's Kitchen is currently expanding out from the company's headquarters in Savannah, including a westward expansion to Augusta, Ga. The chain is also planning to grow within its existing footprint and expand into Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Jacksonville, Fla., over the next two years.
Royal Farms
Royal Farms is adding two new locations to its network of stores in April, one in Bedford, Va., at 875 Blue Ridge Ave., just minutes away from the National D-Day Memorial, and one in Jessup, Md., at 2850 Jessup Road.
Both stores will host ticketed soft openings that include free meals on opening day. Both also feature a gas station with 16 standard-flow fueling positions and operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Jessup site additionally includes a car wash.
"We are delighted to bring Royal Farms to Bedford," said Lisa Daley, district leader of Royal Farms. "Our commitment to delivering fresh, high-quality food and unparalleled convenience has made us a favorite among customers, and we look forward to becoming a cherished part of the Bedford community."
As part of the opening celebrations, Royal Farms dedicated time and funds to local nonprofits. The company will serve as an official sponsor of The National D-Day Foundation's 80th Anniversary of D-Day Commemoration Ceremony, and made monetary donations to Bedford Ride in Bedford and the Grassroots Day Resource Center in the Jessup area.