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Managing the supply chain is an essential part of c-store operations. From working with suppliers to creating programs of their own, supply chain development helps retailers make sure their customers are getting a comparable experience across the entire footprint.
This year saw some suppliers make news on their own, such as when McLane unveiled a new commissary program featuring products like subs, sliders, salads, parfaits and fruit cups. SpartanNash was also acquired by C&S Wholesale Grocers, creating a combined company with almost 60 distribution centers serving about 10,000 independent retail locations.
But c-stores also made plenty of supply chain-focused moves. Below we highlight some of the most impactful supply chain deals retailers made this year.
Several chains sign on with major suppliers
Multiple retailers signed new agreements with major suppliers this year to make their offering more consistent from store to store.
Wawa announced in April that it would be expanding its partnership with McLane to support its growth in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. With dozens of new stores planned in those states over the next few years, distribution will come through McLane’s Bluegrass distribution center in Hebron, Kentucky.
In August, Onvo announced that it would work with Core-Mark, a division of Performance Food Group, to supply its roughly 40 travel centers in New York and Pennsylvania. The partnership aims to “extend its regional reach,” Onvo announced at the time.
Then in September, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores expanded its agreement with Core-Mark. While the retailer had been using Core-Mark for about 100 of its locations, this brought all of Love’s more than 640 locations into the fold.
The largest distribution announcement of all came from Alimentation Couche-Tard, which inked an agreement with McLane for third-party logistics to “enhance control and efficiency within its merchandise supply chain,” the companies said at the time.
RaceTrac opened a new distribution ecnter this year in Louisiana.
Permission granted by RaceTrac
C-stores open distribution centers
These supply chain deals sometimes came with news of new distribution centers. A few companies also opened their own facilities in an effort to shave costs and gain more control over their supply.
Part of Couche-Tard’s agreement with McLane included opening three new distribution centers, the first of which debuted in Otsego, Minnesota, in November. Couche-Tard anticipates opening a second McLane-operated distribution center in Hazelwood, Missouri, by the end of the year and the final one in Lockbourne, Ohio, in January 2026. Once all three are open, they will supply around 1,600 stores in 14 states.
But Circle K isn’t the only retailer getting new supply chain infrastructure.
RaceTrac opened a 40,000-square-foot distribution center in Geismar, Louisiana, in May. The $9 million facility supports “the growing demand for its products across the region,” the company said at the time.
Kwik Trip opened a massive 280,000-square-foot facility on Nov. 4, according to local reports. It serves 350 Kwik Trip locations and includes cold storage and space for dry goods, along with four rooms for banana ripening.
Sheetz is also working on a new distribution center for 2026. The company released an update on the Findlay, Ohio, project in early December, saying it’s on track for a fall 2026 opening. Once complete, the $160 million facility will support Sheetz’s expansions in Ohio and Michigan, a company spokesperson said when the project was first announced in 2023.
Farewell, JF Heritage Food Company
The year’s supply chain news wasn’t all about new deals and facilities.
In April, Casey’s shuttered JF Heritage Food, the distribution arm of Fikes Wholesale, which the Iowa retailer acquired in late 2024, mainly for its CEFCO c-store arm. JF Heritage began as a kolache bakery inside a CEFCO c-store in West Texas in 2018. Two years later, it opened inside a second CEFCO location and added cookies and muffins to its line. In 2021, JF Heritage opened its 60,000-square-foot facility in Belton, Texas, and added doughnuts.
