Oklahoma City-based Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores has launched a new program in conjunction with the company’s 45th anniversary, “Making a Difference From the Heart.” Love’s founder and CEO Tom Love and his daughter, Jenny Love Meyer, announced the new program on Valentine’s Day last week. The program makes $165,000 available to nonprofit organizations [...]

The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals announced the 2008 recipients of its eighth annual Pittsburgh Business Ethics Awards (PBEA), held on Feb. 13 at a Pittsburgh hotel, and convenience store operator Handee Marts Inc. took away top honors in its category. The awards were presented to honor Pittsburgh-area companies that demonstrate [...]

Mark VII Equipment Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of WashTec AG of Germany, a supplier of innovative solutions for the carwash business worldwide, said it has purchased the Michigan assets of PDQ distributor Washing Equipment Technologies. Mark VII said it will service former Washing Equipment Technologies customers via its existing direct-service operation in Michigan, which has [...]

Sara Lee Corp. presented new growth initiatives during the annual Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference, with company Chairman and CEO Brenda Barnes highlighting the plans. Discussing the company’s progress on its multi-year transformation, Barnes detailed Sara Lee’s expanding global customer portfolio and product innovation and marketing efforts. She also addressed Sara Lee’s [...]

By Brian L. Milne, Refined Fuels Editor for DTNWholesale gasoline prices ended the most recent week mixed which will lead to flattening if not lower retail prices in some metropolitan markets, halting a steady march higher so far in 2009. The price decline was diverse, occurring in several wholesale markets in the Midwest to the [...]

Clark Brands has created a sales kit to help new Clark-branded stores effectively launch the Clark Fleet Services Card at their locations. Starting this month, every new branded Clark store will receive the comprehensive kit, which contains all the marketing tools they need to begin promoting the Clark Fleet Services Card to commercial customers. “Promoting [...]

Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Inc. said it has promoted 12-year employee Jim Wenner to the newly created position of vice president of information technology. Wenner, who started with Sheetz in 1996 as manager of programming services, will now be responsible for providing strategic direction for the two primary functions of technology at Sheetz. He will also [...]

Coinstar said it is positioning to purchase the remaining stake of Redbox Automated Retail LLC from GetAMovie Inc. and other minority interest holders, which would give Coinstar 100% of Redbox. With 35 million unique customers and 12,000 locations, redbox has become the leading DVD renter through self-service kiosks in the U.S. Redbox rents movie releases [...]

A federal judge last week declared Wisconsin’s 70-year-old minimum markup on gas unconstitutional, the Associated Press and other news outlets reported. The state must stop enforcing the mandatory markup on gas because it illegally restricts trade, according to a ruling by Rudolph T. Randa, chief judge of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Randa’s decision came [...]

A Virginia federal judge has denied Subway’s request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop Sheetz from promoting its $4 footlong campaign, The Altoona Mirror reported. Subway officials sent a letter dated Jan. 22 to Sheetz requesting that the Altoona-based company cease and desist its campaign. Subway claimed the advertising was in [...]

Hot Stuff Foods announced that Jim Ilaria, board member and principal of Allied Capital, has become interim CEO following the departure of CEO John Fontana. “Allied Capital remains committed to Hot Stuff Foods/Lettieri’s and its future growth,” said Ilaria, “and we are poised for even greater growth with key members of the executive team who [...]

Naperville, Ill.-based Clark Brands has created a sales kit to help newly branded Clark stores effectively launch the Clark Fleet Services Card. Starting this month, every newly branded Clark store will receive the comprehensive kit, which contains all marketing tools needed to promote the Clark Fleet Services Card to commercial customers. “Promoting the Clark Fleet [...]

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. is building Vermont’s largest solar array on top of the distribution center of the Green Mountain Coffee facility in Waterbury, the company said. Construction of the 100 kW photovoltaic array is expected to begin in the spring of 2009 and be completed by summer. The company said the solar array [...]

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market received nine medals for its specially selected wines at the 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the majority of which retail for under $10, the company said. Fresh & Easy now has more than 30 award-wining wines, but it has won accolades for the following wines at the 2009 San [...]