Dive Brief:
- ExtraMile Convenience Stores has debuted its first location in Florida, Freddy Patel, vice president of Chevron distributor GW Hunter, which owns and operates the site, confirmed to C-Store Dive.
- GW Hunter had a soft opening on June 19 and has tentatively scheduled a grand opening celebration for July 24, Patel added. The c-store is located about 10 miles west of downtown Gainesville.
- This new location marks ExtraMile’s 18th state of operation as the convenience store chain, which is co-owned by Chevron and Jacksons Food Stores, continues its ambitious expansion across the Southeast.
Dive Insight:
In June 2024, ExtraMile President and CEO Brian Sardelich told C-Store Dive that the convenience retailer hoped to grow its store count from about 1,100 locations at the time to close to 2,000 by 2029.
Part of that growth plan includes bringing ExtraMile to several markets across the Southeast, including Florida, a state where consumers have shown strong demand for food-focused convenience retailers such as Wawa and RaceTrac.
Two years later, that step in ExtraMile’s expansion has finally taken shape.
“This opening marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter as our Florida pipeline continues to grow with more locations on the horizon,” Brad Wolford, general manager of sales for ExtraMile, said in a LinkedIn post on June 20. “We are incredibly excited about this expansion and look forward to continuing our strong support for Chevron and Texaco retailers and marketers across the entire network.”
The Gainesville ExtraMile adds to GW Hunter’s roster of locations, which includes nearly 30 Chevron-branded locations in northern Florida that the company either owns or leases to dealers, Patel said. Besides Gainsville, those sites are scattered across Lake City, Tallahassee, Live Oak, Fort White, South Jasper, Woodville and High Springs, according to GW’s website.
In an announcement promoting the new location, the Florida Petroleum Marketer’s Association said that additional ExtraMile sites in the Sunshine State are in development, and Patel “will personally field new inquiries from retailers interested in becoming ExtraMile franchisees until a Florida sales representative is hired.”
“We’re thrilled to celebrate this achievement and spotlight the innovation and investment happening within our FPMA membership,” the association said in its announcement. “Congratulations to Freddy Patel and the entire GW Hunter team on this historic opening.”
