From Oil to Craft Beer

Once an oil distributor, Triangle Stop has evolved into a small chain of convenience stores with an emphasis on local beer.

February 16, 2016

NACS Ideas 2 Go shares innovative ideas—both big and small—from convenience retailers across the country. In addition to NACS Magazine articles, since 1994, the Ideas 2 Go video program has featured hundreds of interviews with retailers from nearly every state and five countries. To watch these retailers in action, visit nacsonline.com/ideas2go.

Triangle Stop takes beer very seriously. Not only does the 10-unit chain in western North Carolina have an extensive craft beer selection, but four of its locations also have growler taps and on-premise beer and wine permits that allow for in-store sampling.

“People want to taste the beer before filling a growler, so we decided to add the on-premise license to serve both samples and drinks,” said Beau Waddell, vice president of Triangle Stop. “We get a lot of great local beer and cider in our stores that we rotate on our taps.”

But Triangle Stop didn’t start out as a place to buy local craft beer—its beginnings involved a different kind of liquid: oil. The J.H. Reaben Oil & Supply Company opened for business in 1929. “My great-grandfather started out as an oil distributor, and we branched out into convenience stores in 1970,” Waddell said. “Now we only operate convenience stores within a 30-mile radius of our home office in Hendersonville, North Carolina.”

A Novel Idea
The company might not have started out as a convenience store, but the chain has learned a lot about the industry in its four decades of existence. With a motto of “Clean, Friendly & Convenient,” Triangle Stop stores focus on foodservice and quality merchandise. Stores have roller grills and three locations offer a fresh pizza program. In addition, all stores serve fresh biscuit breakfast sandwiches in the morning. Newer stores offer more unique beverages, such as frozen carbonated drinks and milkshake machines.

Besides traditional convenience store items such as snacks and tobacco, Triangle Stop locations carry a large selection of novelty items that cater to tourists visiting the western North Carolina region. Unique items for sale include puppets, purses, wallets, jewelry, wind chimes and Ty Beanie Babies, as well as seasonal items, souvenirs and local sports-related paraphernalia.

“Each store carries a slightly different mix of these products depending on the space available and the clientele,” said Teresa Hill, general manager for Triangle Stop. “While this is a high-profit category, the novelty merchandise also doesn’t turn over as fast as other convenience store products, so we have to balance the space allotted to it with the location and customers.”

To keep the category fresh, Hill travels to a merchandise mart in Atlanta several times a year to check out the hot new items for consideration to add to the mix. “We have our proven winners that are our core items, such as our metal signs and Beanie Babies, but we like to keep up with the latest trends, too,” she said.

The company has even developed its own novelty line of merchandise related to its Mountain River Tap and Growlers brand, which is the name of the chain’s first growler bar. “We’ve taken that name and logo and branched out into t-shirts, sweatshirts and shot glasses for the novelty category,” Waddell said.

It’s Growler Time
The Mountain River Tap & Growler bar opened in May 2014 inside the retailer’s Mills River Triangle Stop, becoming the first convenience store in the state with a growler bar after North Carolina legalized the containers. In October 2014, the Saluda, North Carolina, store debuted its growler bar, to be followed by a Brevard, North Carolina, store in early 2015.

“Asheville is the beer capital of the East Coast with around five major craft breweries here, plus 20 or so regional brewers in and around the area,” Waddell said. “We source our beer from these brewers, as well as a few local cideries that make apple and blackberry cider. Our goal is to have beer and cider on tap that you can’t get in bottles or cans.”

The growler program has three options for customers: a 32-ounce and a 64-ounce refillable glass growler, and a 32-ounce sealable can for single use. “The one-time use can has been extremely popular with those who don’t want to invest in the growler container or who want to take the beer to a location where glass containers aren’t welcome, such as at local parks or lakes,” he said.

Two of the four Triangle Stop locations are more like neighborhood bars with limited seating. Their newest location at the Asheville Regional Airport has a genuine bar made from reclaimed pallets, topped with ambrosia maple and trimmed with walnut, plus 16 barstools and high-top tables. “It’s a professionally built and installed bar that showcases our craft beer taps and definitely gives customers that ‘wow’ feeling when they walk into what looks like a typical convenience store,” Waddell said.

Overall, customer response to the growlers and bar has been “wonderful. Folks who come in can’t believe we offer such a variety of local beer on tap,” he said. “It’s unexpected but welcomed by the community.” The company hosts special events monthly at each of its stores that have a growler bar. “We feature unique beer and partner with local breweries for the events, which have been very popular with our customers,” Waddell said.

The Future
Triangle Stop doesn’t plan to add a growler bar to every location, given the space constraints at some current stores. However, Waddell indicated that within the next two years, the company has plans to raze and re-build at least one current location to add a growler bar.

“We’ve been around for a while, and we’re happy with our small number of stores,” he said. “We’d rather be successful with these 10 or so units than expand too fast and lose some of what makes our stores unique.”

Sarah Hamaker is a freelance writer and NACS Magazine contributor based in Fairfax, Virginia. Visit her online at www.sarahhamaker.com.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement