Dive Brief:
- GPM Investments plans to expand its new food-focused convenience store model to an additional 20 to 25 locations once its initial seven pilot stores have opened, Arie Kotler, chairman, president and CEO of parent company Arko Corp., said during its third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
- GPM opened the first of these stores, which feature the brand’s proprietary Fas Craves foodservice program, in June. A second site opened in early August, and a third is set to debut during the fourth quarter, Kotler said. The final four are expected to open in the first half of 2026. All sites are located in the Richmond, Virginia, area.
- GPM’s new store design is part of Arko’s broader transformation plan, in which it’s spending less money and time on acquisitions and more on organic growth, converting sites to dealer locations and improving its loyalty platform.
Dive Insight:
When GPM first revealed plans for its food-focused store design last fall, Kotler said the company was pivoting to “a significant focus on foodservice” and aimed to grow traffic, profitability and its value proposition amid what he called a “challenging microeconomic environment.” It was a notable shift from the company’s prior strategy, which focused on growing its store count through numerous acquisitions.
The highlight of these stores is Arko’s Fas Craves program, which features new hot and cold grab-and-go items, such as crispy chicken biscuits, potato wedges, mozzarella sticks, jumbo chicken wings, chicken sandwiches and burgers. These sites also feature an array of dispensed beverage offerings and Arko’s bean-to-cup coffee program, including nitro cold brew, hot and iced coffee, iced teas, lemonades, slush ices and frozen coffee.
Kotler said last year that if the pilot was successful, Arko would expand the concept across its footprint of about 1,200 sites across the U.S. Until now, it was unclear if that expansion was going to happen.
On Wednesday’s call, Kotler said GPM is pleased with the performance of the two locations that have opened, and told analysts and investors that the company is planning for an additional 20 to 25 sites once the first seven are live. While he didn’t share any metrics, he said the growth of these sites “has been as planned and has continued to improve.”
“We are seeing encouraging results, no question about it,” Kotler said of GPM’s food-focused stores.
Although it’s unclear if future sites will be in Richmond, Kotler said the expansion will occur “in the region” where GPM is piloting these sites. He emphasized that construction on these additional food-focused stores will begin “immediately” after the seventh pilot store opens.
“The name of the game is going to be foodservice and cold categories,” he said. “This is what we are going to concentrate on going into 2026.”
