By: John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. The lease is up at your existing location, and the new center down the street is happening. The thought of relocating your business is daunting—when will you find the time and will you lose customers? An important decision faces your brand—do you relocate your [...]
By John Matthews, founder of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. It was the situation that everyone dreads. Out of the blue, the anxiety-filled request was made—the CEO had summoned me to his office. Thoughts raced through my head—mostly bad thoughts, mind you—of why I was being asked to join him and the COO in an impromptu [...]
“As an established refiner and marketer, Tesoro provides a strong future for the business and for its employees,” says Iain Conn, chief executive of BP’s global refining and marketing business. BP reached an agreement to sell its Carson, Calif., refinery and related logistics and marketing assets to the Tesoro Corporation for $2.5 billion in cash [...]
James Haslam III considers an investment in the Cleveland Browns. The president of Pilot Travel Centers LLC, James Haslam III, who is also a part owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is reportedly in talks with Cleveland Browns Owner Randy Lerner to buy part of the National Football League team, Bloomberg reported. Pilot Travel Centers LLC [...]
I.C. Pit Stop, a c-store in eastern Iowa, makes profits buying gold from local consumers. The I.C. Pit Stop has bought gold for just over a year now, and so far, the business has been a success. Mark Paterno, owner of the c-store, said he gets a customer willing to sell gold products almost every [...]
By John Matthews, Founder, Gray Cat Enterprises. Back in my twenties, I worked for a growing pizza chain, Little Caesar Enterprises, with a career that spanned nearly a decade. Little Caesars, at the time I joined was a 1,300-store, $700 million company and over the first five years of my stint there, had grown to [...]
More than $2.5 million in scholarships have been awarded since the program’s inception. Over the past 25 years, New York and New Jersey area BP station owners have provided over $2.5 million in scholarships to more than 1,700 promising students. This year, 185 local BP station owners will present a BP Fueling Communities grant donation [...]
Convenience store operators have plenty of help when it comes to investing in a foodservice program. By Jim Callahan. I recently read that China’s convenience stores are experiencing double-digit growth in deli sales primarily driven by hot dog sales. But let’s be frank, nobody does hot dogs better than Americans. From the quality of the [...]
7-Eleven Inc. is in negotiations to acquire most of the Open Pantry Food Marts of Wisconsin chain, a move that would give the c-store behemoth with 6,800 stores across the U.S. a foothold in Wisconsin, where it currently has no stores, the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reported. 7-Eleven has reportedly applied for licenses for Open Pantry locations [...]
“This product will give customers peace of mind and protect both their fuel and their profits,” says Atlas Oil spokesperson. Fuel theft from above ground tanks is becoming a growing problem in these tough economic times. To address this issue, Atlas Oil Co. has partnered with Burlingame Industries to distribute TankShield, an innovative fuel theft [...]
Franchise opportunities still available in Sioux City and Ottawa, Iowa, as well as in Lincoln and Omaha, Neb. Dunkin’ Donuts has signed a multi-unit store development agreement with sister and brother franchisee team, Lori Kelderman High and Jeff Kelderman, for eight new restaurants in Des Moines, Iowa. Two restaurants are slated to open in 2013 and [...]
About 25-30 new Stripes convenience stores planned for next year. Susser Holdings Corp. plans to accelerate its new retail store building program in 2012, with an estimated 25-30 Stripes convenience stores expected to be built next year. “Our plan to pick up the pace of new store building next year reflects the strong traction our [...]
With operating costs soaring in a sluggish economy, convenience store owners have a variety of tax benefits available to them from the IRS. By Mark E. Battersby, Contributing Editor. Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service advised taxpayers to cool their heels and wait until mid- to late-February 2011 before filing their returns to allow [...]
In his FY 2011 budget proposal, President Barack Obama addressed the need for bringing healthy food options to underserved communities by calling for more than $400 million in investments in new and expanded supermarkets, farmers markets and other food stores. The public-private grant and loan program would dramatically reduce the roughly 23 million Americans who [...]
It’s been a challenging couple of years for convenience store operators, marked by wild fuel price fluctuations and exorbitant credit card fees. Despite the adversity, Chevron stood apart as one of the premier industry leaders. By advancing its Image Refresh program at ExtraMile convenience stores, growing the Texaco brand and introducing a no-fee credit card [...]