Personnel Updates

• Albertsons LLC (169) announced it has appointed Vivek Sankaran as President and CEO.

• Empire Petroleum Partners (8) has appointed Rick Golman as its new CEO.

• Food Marketing Institute (27) has added Marjorie DePuy as Senior Director for Supply Chain and Sustainability and Gigi Vita as VP of Sales for its Safe Quality Food Institute division.

• IGA Inc. (15) has named Robin VanDenabeele as Director of IGA Exclusive Brands, overseeing IGA’s private label redesign, product development and marketing.

• The Kroger Co. (273) announced Mary Ellen Adcock has been promoted to Senior VP, Retail Operations. Joe Grieshaber will become Senior VP Merchandising. Robert Clark, will become Senior VP, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Sourcing. Dennis Gibson will become President of the Fred Meyer division. Dan De La Rosa will become President of the King Soopers division. Additionally, Marlene Stewart will retire from the company effective July 20. Succeeding her is Joe Kelley, currently VP on special assignment.

• Kum & Go LLC (80) has hired Erin Kuhl as its new CFO.

• Publix Super Markets Inc. (300) announced Barney Barnett, Vice Chairman, will retire from the company on April 30.

• QuickChek Corp (37) announced it has has hired chef Ted Kwiecien as its new Culinary Specialist.

Financial Focus

• Grocery Outlet Inc. announced it will make an initial public offering.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Apollo Global Management said it will acquire Smart & Final Stores LLC. The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2019.

• EG Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Fastrac Markets LLC. The deal includes 54 convenience stores and gas stations, as well as Fastrac’s wholesale fuel business.

• Energy North Group has purchased six c-stores with gasoline, two heating-oil companies, one car wash and one property in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. All were purchased from undisclosed sellers. The company also has acquired Ayer Oil in Ayer, MA, and Jenkins Oil in Elliot, ME.

• GPM Investments LLC, through a subsidiary, has taken ownership of 18 convenience stores with fuel sales in Florida from Town Star Food Stores.

• Marathon Petroleum Corporation has agreed to acquire all 37 of NOCO Energy Co.’s convenience stores in western New York.

• Orion Food Systems LLC and Land Mark Products Inc. have entered into a merger agreement to create a comprehensive foodservice company.

• Rutter’s Holdings Inc. acquired a former Tom’s Travel Center in Milroy, PA, from Shipley Energy.

• South Tennessee Oil Co. Inc. has acquired two Rick’s Barbecue & Country Store locations offering fuel from Rick’s Barbecue Inc.

Industry Insight

• QuikTrip Corp. recently celebrated the opening of its 800th convenience store.

Real Estate

• Bashas’ Inc. has opened a new 16,000 sq. ft. Bashas’ Diné Market, in Sanders, AZ. It’s the first store opening for the chain in 10 years.

• Food Lion LLC announced it plans to remodel 23 stores in the Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, VA, areas.

• Giant Food Stores LLC is opening six new stores in four states. Five of the brand-new locations are former Shop ‘n Save locations the retailer acquired previously, which are branded Martin’s Food Markets in Smithsburg, MD, Greencastle, PA, Berryville, VA, Hedgesville, WV, and Martinsburg, WV. In addition, the retailer constructed a brand-new store in Warrington, PA, to replace a store previously located in Jamison, PA.

• Meijer Inc. announced plans to open three new supercenters in Ohio this month.

• QuikTrip Corp. announced it plans to expand in the Denver, CO market.

• Schnuck Markets Inc. plans to close 2 stores in Missouri over the next couple of months.

• Sprouts Farmers Markets announced it will open 13 stores during the second half of 2019. The openings include Sprouts first-ever store in Virginia and five locations in Florida. The company will open its first New Jersey store in June.

• Stew Leonard’s will open its first New Jersey location later this year in Paramus, NJ. The 80,000 sq. ft. store will feature a bakery, butcher shop, seafood section and kitchen for catering, take-home meals and an onsite buffet.

• Wegmans Food Markets Inc. will open its first store in North Carolina, a 104,000 sq. ft. location at the Midtown East Shopping Center, in Raleigh, on Sept. 29.

Technology News

• The Kroger Co. has announced plans to launch an autonomous grocery delivery service in the Houston market. The new service will first comprise a fleet of manual and self-driving Toyota Prius cars with Nuro designed unmanned cars to be introduced into the concept later this year.

• TravelCenters of America LLC has named Cord Financial Services as its exclusive ATM solutions provider for TA, Petro Shopping Centers, TA Express and Quaker Steak & Lube locations.

Just because we don’t mention it here doesn’t mean it didn’t happen – or we didn’t capture it. In the past four weeks, we’ve updated more than 437 companies in the Supermarket, Grocery, & Convenience Stores PLUS Database, with many of those companies’ records updated at multiple points.