ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Denver-based Choice Market is opening its fourth location near the University of Denver this summer, reports the Denver Post.
“It was a natural fit,” Choice Market owner Mike Fogarty told the Post. “We’ve been wanting to get outside of Denver’s true urban core and extend our delivery radius down south. This store will give us the opportunity to tap into that market of students and higher income neighborhoods surrounding the area.”
The location will feature frictionless technology, including self-checkout, walkout technology and an app, which all sync and communicate with each other.
(Fogarty stopped by the NACS Convenience Matters podcast to talk about how his stores operate as the c-store of the future, focused on giving its customers choice.)
The new Choice location will feature a separate turnstile entrance so that the store can stay open 24/7, unlike the other locations which close at 11 p.m. There will be a cashier at the location up until 11 p.m., and then after that, if customers want to purchase items, they must use the Choice app. The 24/7 turnstile will eventually be added to the other Choice locations, according to Fogarty.
“Technology is convenient, so why not have it in a convenience store?” Fogarty told the Post. “Our customers really enjoy the convenience to order what they want when they want. And we’ve also been able to understand who the Choice customer is, which are predominantly female customers with higher disposable incomes, and that has really set us apart from the competition.”
Fogarty says there are two more locations in the works—a full cashierless location near the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus opening in August and another location to open in fuel pumps and electric car chargers in Parker, Colorado.
Meanwhile, Love’s Travel Stops has opened a new location in Rockville, Minnesota, according to a news release. The store adds 102 truck parking spaces and 40 jobs to Stearns County.
“Love’s is pleased to open its third location in Minnesota and offer better access to Clean Places, Friendly Faces,” said Greg Love, co-CEO of Love’s. “Our Rockville location will provide amenities and employment opportunities to the community. Whether you’re a professional truck driver or four-wheel customer, we have what you need while you’re on the road.”
In honor of the grand opening, Love’s will donate $2,000 split between the Rocori Area Food Shelter and the Parent Teacher Club at John Clark Elementary School.
Additionally, Global Partners, the parent company of c-store chains Alltown and Alltown Fresh, announced that Alltown Fresh’s healthy, fresh food choices and made-to-order meals will be expanding to the Alltown convenience store chain, reports OPIS.
"We’re going to grow the brand throughout New England," said Joshua Smith, Alltown Fresh's director of culinary innovation, during a webinar this week. "We're going to look at all retail sites, from larger sites to smaller sites. The smaller sites might just need bean-to-cup coffee and commissary [food items]. The stores with full kitchens will serve the smaller sites a commissary offer."
Alltown Fresh launched its first store in 2019 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and has since expended to 13 locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York, and Global Partners has more new-to-industry stores planned.
The c-store chain plans to launch a "hub-and-spoke concept," where locations that have full kitchens will ship food to smaller Alltown stores. There are 70 Alltown locations across New England.
The first Alltown Fresh location launched with not only foodservice, but also offers gas/diesel, bean-to-cup coffee, outdoor seating, groceries, craft beer, Wi-Fi, pet relief areas, traditional snack options and phone and electric vehicle charging stations.
NACS toured Alltown Fresh’s first location in Plymouth, Massachusetts, during the 2019 Ideas 2 Go series.