Dive Brief:
- Casey’s General Stores is building seven new convenience stores in Texas, according to filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
- The seven sites will span central and eastern Texas, with two in Abilene and the rest in Tioga, Gladewater, Texarkana, Athens and Burnet. Every location is expected to be built by the end of 2025, according to the filings.
- Iowa-based Casey’s is quickly cementing itself as a major convenience player in Texas — the largest c-store market in the U.S. — less than two years after entering the Lone Star State.
Dive Insight:
Casey’s set foot in Texas for the first time when it acquired the 22-store Lone Star Food Stores chain in late 2023. A few months later, Casey’s stamped its arrival as a key competitor in the state after purchasing CEFCO Convenience Stores’ 148 c-stores in the state.
Although Casey’s gained hundreds of c-stores in Texas overnight, the retailer also aimed to grow organically across the state, president and CEO Darren Rebelez said at the time.
That plan is now coming to fruition with Casey’s investing over $6.2 million into its seven new builds in Texas, according to its filings with the state’s licensing and regulation department.
One site in Abilene as well as the locations in Burnet, Tioga and Texarkana are currently under construction, while the Gladewater and Athens stores are expected to break ground later this month. The second store in Abilene is set to break ground in August.
Each new c-store will range from 4,200 square feet to 4,570 square feet, according to the filings. This is in line with Casey’s standard stores, which span about 5,000 square feet. Its smallest stores are about 3,200 square feet, while its travel centers are nearly 8,000 square feet.
In a statement to C-Store Dive, a Casey’s spokesperson emphasized that Texas remains a focal point of the company’s growth strategy.
“We are actively permitting future, new-store builds and we will also continue to evaluate and plan for CEFCO store transitions, which we’ve said is a multi-year process,” the spokesperson said. “This is an exciting time at Casey’s and we look forward to serving more guests in Texas.”
This story has been updated with information from a Casey’s spokesperson.
