By John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. When it comes to managing a profitable operation, knowing the key financial drivers of the store is paramount. Developing a “Four-Wall Analysis” is a helpful tool to better understanding both revenue projections as well as variable and fixed expenses. Few operators take the time…
Connecting The Dots
By John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. You may think about your business 24/7, but chances are your customers do not. Hard to believe, right? I am a big believer that the successful businessperson is always considering how they can “connect the dots” for their customers more easily so that their…
Englefield Oil Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary
Three generations of exceptional leadership and a keen focus on employees help the family business reach this distinctive milestone. By: John Lofstock, Editor. To understand the history of the convenience store and petroleum industry is to understand the individual success stories that helped build our great nation. Each company has a unique story, but their…
Scotsman Donates Ice Machines to Florida Culinary Academy
“We are proud to contribute equipment to the Academy of Culinary Arts program,” says Scotsman spokesperson. Scotsman Ice Systems has unveiled three new ice machines at the Academy of Culinary Arts at Land O’ Lakes High School. The academy, which serves the Land O’ Lakes, Fla., community, received a joint donation from Scotsman, United Refrigeration…
ServSafe Food Handler Guide Now Available
“The ServSafe Food Handler Guide is a cost-effective solution for use by all convenience retailers that provide foodservice offerings,” says Dr. Nancy Caldarola, education director for NACS CAFÉ. NACS members now have access to the ServSafe Food Handler Guide, an affordable solution for in-store food safety training that easily integrates food safety into any existing…
Hess Reports Estimated Q3 Results
Hess Corp. reported net income of $298 million for the third quarter of 2011 compared with $1,154 million for the third quarter of 2010. Key takeaways include: • Net income excluding items affecting comparability between periods was $379 million, compared with $429 million in the third quarter of 2010. • Net cash provided by operating activities was…
Cumberland Farms To Offer MoneyGram Xpress
In-lane money transfer service makes transactions easier for customers. Massachusetts-based Cumberland Farms has signed an agreement with MoneyGram International to launch the first locations of the MoneyGram Xpress service. This new in-lane money transfer service allows consumers to purchase pre-packaged money transfers in $50, $100 and $200 denominations and redeem them online or by telephone…
Merchants Get More Than $10 Million Thanks To Durbin
Heartland Payment Systems releases latest data about Durbin Amendment’s actual effects on business owners. A grand total of $11,720,068 in signature debit interchange reductions have been deposited into merchant bank accounts by Heartland Payment Systems, one of the nation’s largest payments processors. Of these Durbin Dollars, restaurant merchants received $4,042,859 and lodging merchants received $513,852.…
Love’s To Open 10 New CNG Fueling Stations
Chesapeake Energy and Love’s team add CNG accessibility across Oklahoma. Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, an Oklahoma City, Okla.-based and family-owned operator of 280 travel stops and convenience stores, plans to add 10 publicly accessible compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations at existing locations across Oklahoma. These CNG fueling stations will be located in…
Center For Tobacco Products Postpones Meeting
New meeting date will be announced soon. FDA is postponing the Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory (TPSAC) meeting scheduled for Nov. 2-3, 2011. The meeting is being rescheduled because key participants were unavailable due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts. A new meeting date will be announced in the Federal Register. For more information: <http://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/TobaccoProductsScientificAdvisoryCommittee/ucm276969.htm