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FRONT & CENTER News
about NYACS Member Retailers and Suppliers Retail Member News COUNTRY CONVENIENCE FOOD STORES: The chain’s headquarters has moved to 2679 Route 17M, Suite B, Goshen, NY 10924, phone 845-294-1840. CUMBERLAND FARMS: The chain held a grand opening of its newest New York location on Route 9-W in Glenmont, an Albany suburb. Across the Hudson River in Sand Lake, Rensselaer County, another Cumberland Farms sold the first $1 million winning ticket in New York Lottery’s “Deal or No Deal” game. LUTZ BROTHERS INC.: The town Planning Board in Hamburg, Erie County, approved a site plan and special use permit for the planned expansion of the Lutz Mobil convenience store at 5073 Camp Road. The expanded location will feature a Dunkin’ Donuts, and a separate car wash will be constructed. MANLEY’S MIGHTY MART: The chain opened a newly rebuilt location at 715 Upper Court Street in Binghamton. The store more than doubled in size to 4,800 square feet and features a Dunkin Donuts, Big Al’s deli, the chain’s first beer cave, and an adjacent Laundromat. Branded Exxon, the location has six motor fuel dispensers and a separate diesel island with three dispensers. NICE N EASY GROCERY SHOPPES: Santa Claus was on hand as the Canastota-based chain held the grand opening of its newest store on Turin Road in Rome December 8. Customer James Fiaschetti of Rome won the grand prize, a 2007 Polaris Hawkeye 300 ATV. Just two doors from the previous location, the state-of-the-art Nice N Easy includes a full-service Easy Street Eatery with freshly prepared hot and cold food, produce department, walk-in beer cooler, and electronic media with customized promotions inside the store and at the pumps. Courtney Wallace is Store Manager, while Stephanie Wallace is the Easy Street Eatery Manager. PIT STOP CONVENIENCE STORES: At the ninth Annual Pit Stop Awards ceremony, Heather Burnley from Sodus Point Pit Stop was named Customer Service Associate of the Year; Tina Woodhams, Elbridge Pit Stop, Location Supervisor of the Year; and Cortland Pit Stop, Store of the Year. QUICKWAY FOOD STORES: Parent company Mirabito Fuel Group provided 19 Central New York and Southern Tier area schools with a total of $9,500 in grants through Exxon Mobil’s Educational Alliance Program this year. Schools could apply for a $500 grant from ExxonMobil through their local Convenience Express or Quickway Food Store to fund math, science, arts, reading, computer, enrichment or other projects. RIVERSIDE GAS & OIL CO. INC.: The company has sold the heating oil and propane delivery portions of its business, but is retaining its retail convenience stores as well as motor fuel and diesel transport business As of January 1, Riverside’s headquarters has moved to 333 Aviation Road, Building A, Queensbury NY 12804, phone 518-615-0515. SUNOCO INC.: The company opened an expanded Sunoco A-Plus at Union and Center roads in West Seneca, Erie County. Replacing a 1,200-sq-ft store building with converted service bays is a newly constructed 2,400-sq-ft C-store boasting Sunoco’s first beer cave in upstate New York. The fueling center has been reconfigured and expanded, now offering six MPDs for motor fuel plusone dieseldispenser under canopy. UNITED REFINING COMPANY: Co-workers held a retirement party for Red Apple/Kwik Fill Area Manager Ron Swackhamer, who retired after 22 years with the company and is relocating to the Charlotte NC area. WILSON FARMS INC.: Wilson Farms, the Buffalo-based 198-store chain, has selected Tripifoods Inc. of Buffalo as its wholesale supplier beginning in early 2008. "We selected Tripifoods based on their expertise and experience in supplying convenience stores and our joint commitment to supporting the local economy," said Paul Nanula, Wilson Farms President and CEO. XTRAMART CONVENIENCE STORES: Priscilla Robinson of the Marathon NY store was named Manager of the Year at the chain’s Managers Appreciation Awards event in Sturbridge MA September19. Bill Spicer of Greene NY was first runner-up. Meanwhile, XtraMart has reopened its newly renovated location off I-88 in Afton, Chenango County, featuring a Deli Joe’s Café and new fuel island. Associate Member News ALTRIA CORP./JOHN MIDDLETON INC.: Altria, parent company of Philip Morris USA, announced it is acquiring John Middleton Inc., manufacturer of Black & Mild and other cigars, from Bradford Holdings. Middleton, founded in 1856, will continue to operate from its facilities in King of Prussia PA and Limerick PA, with its current President, Orrin Ridington Jr., leading the company’s operations. ANHEUSER BUSCH INC.: Dave Peacock, who had been Vice President of Business Operations, is swapping roles with Mike Owens, who had been VP of Marketing. Marlene Coulis, formerly VP of Brand Management, will become VP of Consumer Strategy and Innovation, while Keith Levy, formerly VP of Sales and Retail Marketing, will become VP of Brand Management and Geo Marketing. ATS ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES: Christopher Tiso, CEO, announced the appointment of Fernando Ramos and Jose Gonzalez to lead the company’s sump repair team. Each has tested and repaired over 10,000 sumps, dispenser pans and spill buckets. Ramos and Gonzalez have worked side by side since 2002. They have worked on projects for Sunoco, 7-11, BP, Amoco, Sheetz, Shell, Texaco, Sunoco, BP, Wawa and Chevron. Ramos began working on sumps after retiring from the US Navy in 2001. He is skilled in most forms of sump repair including Blue-Line Technologies, Unit Liner (Sump Tite), Diversified Products, and Universal Valve Company retrofit sump covers. Gonzales has worked in the environmental testing industry for over 10 years. He began his career installing and repairing thousands of corrosion protection systems. CITGO PETROLEUM CORP.: Citgo and LatinoBaseball.com announced an Urban Youth Baseball Initiative to support and promote the game among Latino inner-city youth. Although participation in baseball among these youth is on the rise, the equipment they need is often beyond their reach, so the program will supply gloves, bats and balls. In addition, it will sponsor a round-robin tournament among 50 Latino youth baseball teams in selected U.S. cities. DUNKIN’ BRANDS: The company announced a realignment of its organizational structure by combining the U.S. and international teams for its Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brands. Will Kussell was named President and Chief Brand Officer for Dunkin' Donuts Worldwide, the largest brand in terms of sales, units and growth potential for Dunkin' Brands. He formerly was Dunkin' Brands CEO. Robert Rodriguez, President of Dunkin' Donuts U.S., was offered an opportunity to stay with the company, but he chose to leave to pursue other interests. GARELICK FARMS: Tom Davis, Vice President and General Manager of Garelick Farms, Franklin MA, was inducted into the New England Convenience Store Association’s Hall of Fame. He provided pivotal leadership on the association’s capital campaign, Executive Conference, and other projects and events. GINSBERG’S INC.: Company employees, customers, and friends mourned the passing of Morton A. Ginsberg, Founder and Chairman of the Board, on September 21. He and his late wife Ida founded Hudson NY-based Ginsberg's Institutional Foods, which rapidly grew into the largest independent food service distributor in the Hudson Valley and one of the top 50 food service distributors in the U.S. HEINEKEN USA: Don Blaustein, Vice President of Sales since March 2005, has been promoted to President and CEO, succeeding Andy Thomas, who left the business. Prior to joining Heineken, Blaustein was VP of Global Sales for Molson Inc. He also spent 16 years with Diageo/Guinness Ltd. JIMAPCO INC.: Bud Weygant, long-time Sales and Operations Manager, has retired. Director of Sales Kevin Richardson, who has been with the company for the past two years, has assumed Bud’s duties and can be reached at 518-899-5091 Ext. 213. MOUNTAIN/SERVICE DISTRIBUTORS: Field Sales Manager Bob Tatz has been promoted to Sales Manager for the South Fallsburg-based wholesale distributor.In addition, Pamela Abramsky has joined the Purchasing Department. NAT SHERMAN INC.: The cigar and cigarette maker held a grand opening reception December 12 to officially open its new headquarters and retail showroom on East 42nd St. at Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. NESTLE WATERS NORTH AMERICA: Jason House has been promoted to Education Manager/East. Dan Sullivan, Key Account Manager, is the new primary account manager for Nestle Waters. Based in Hamburg NY, he can be reached at 716-646-4430. RJ REYNOLDS TOBACCO CO.: David Powers, Northeast Regional Director of State Government Relations, has been promoted to national Vice President of State Government Relations. SWEDISH MATCH NORTH AMERICA: Doug Smith joined the Richmond VA based company as Account Representative for New York. He will be responsible for providing information, services, and OTP category solutions to major chains and distributors headquartered here. Prior to joining Swedish Match, Smith was Senior Account Executive for Crossmark Sales and Marketing. He lives in Rochester. MILLER BREWING CO.: SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing plan to combine operations to create a stronger No. 2 brewer known as MillerCoors with beer sales of 69 million U.S. barrels. Pending regulatory approval, each company will have a 50% voting interest in the joint venture and five representatives on its board. SABMiller will have a 58% economic interest and Molson Coors 42%. Pete Coors, Vice Chairman of Molson Coors, will serve as Chairman of MillerCoors, while Graham Mackay, SABMiller CEO, will be Vice Chairman. Molson Coors CEO Leo Kiely will be CEO of the joint venture, and Miller CEO Tom Long will be President and Chief Commercial Officer. TRIPIFOODS INC.: Wilson Farms Inc., the Buffalo-based 198-store chain, has selected Tripifoods of Buffalo as its wholesale supplier beginning in early 2008. "We selected Tripifoods based on their expertise and experience in supplying convenience stores and our joint commitment to supporting the local economy," said Paul Nanula, Wilson Farms President and CEO. ULTIMATE SALES AND SERVICE: The C-store broker announced the appointment of industry veteran Chet Bartkowski (315-559-3026, cbartkowski@ultimate-sales.com), as its new Regional Salesperson for Upstate New York. Jonathan Harnish has been promoted to VP of Sales for the Mid-Atlantic Region. In addition, Ultimate announced its representation of Navajo Manufacturing Co., supplier of sunglasses, reading glasses, personal care items, Pennzoil automotive, stationery supplies, and cell phone accessories.
Do you have an item for the "Front & Center" roundup of member news? A new or remodeled store? A new addition or promotion in your management team? Honors or awards for your company? We're proud of the growth and accomplishments of NYACS retail and supplier members, and we want to share the positive news with the rest of the membership. Don't be shy! E-mail your "Front & Center" news item to jim@nyacs.org or fax to 518-432-7400. Home - About NYACS - Trade Show - The Industry - Membership - Contact Us - Issues - Tools
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