7-Eleven, Sheetz adding travel centers

Dive Brief:

• 7-Eleven is converting more than 100 stores to its 7Fleet diesel network, with the aim of reaching 500 sites by the end of 2025, the company announced on Thursday. These sites offer diesel fuel, diesel exhaust fluids and truck parking. 
• Sheetz, meanwhile, plans to open four new stores in August with diesel fuel, DEF, truck scales and overnight truck parking, according to an emailed announcement. One of these stores is also Sheetz’s first store in Michigan. 
• Travel centers have gained a larger presence in the c-store industry in recent years, with companies like QuikTrip, RaceTrac and Wawa building larger, truck-friendly sites.

Dive Insight:

Travel centers are attractive to convenience retailers because they offer greater opportunity for profit. They have larger stores and more diverse opportunities for revenue streams, including higher fuel volumes — the average passenger vehicle takes about 13 gallons while trucks can take over 100 — and space for more foodservice options.

Sheetz’s four new stores with truck amenities will be opening in Middletown, Virginia; Warsaw and Asheville, North Carolina; and Romulus, Michigan. 

The Romulus site, at 33380 Wick Road, will have four truck lanes and is located off Exit 197 of Interstate 94, about 23 miles southwest of Detroit.

While Sheetz could not be reached by press time to confirm how many existing sites are set up for truckers, Sheetz’s website currently showed DEF is available at eight sites in North Carolina, 11 in Ohio, 14 in Pennsylvania, four in Virginia and one in West Virginia.

Altoona, Pennsylvania-based Sheetz currently operates more than 740 convenience stores across six states. 

7-Eleven’s 7Fleet network originated when the company bought competitor Speedway in 2022. That deal included 240 locations with diesel. Since then, North America’s largest c-store company has added diesel and other amenities to more than 100 additional sites, bringing the total to nearly 400 sites in 26 states, according to the announcement. It also accepts multiple fleet payment options.

“We are thrilled to continue our growth as one of the largest diesel networks in the country,” said Marissa Schneider, director of commercial fleet for 7-Eleven. “We have not only expanded our presence with physical locations, but we strive to offer full business solutions for our customers by growing with industry partners and adding new forms of payment.”

7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada under the 7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes banners.

Elsewhere around the industry, QuikTrip has been leaning on its remote travel centers, and its first two sites in Indiana are expected to be in that format. Wawa is just getting into this business area, announcing in May that it was working on its first travel center, expected to open in North Carolina in 2025.