FavTrip to open first new-build c-store Thursday

Dive Brief:

Convenience store retailer FavTrip will open a new location Thursday, its third overall and first built from the ground up, according to an emailed announcement.
Located in Grandview, Missouri — about 17 miles south of downtown Kansas City — the store features a drive thru, walk-up window and delivery operations in addition to standard convenience items and numerous fuel pumps.
Known nationally for its efforts to deter shoplifters, FavTrip will add the store to its popular YouTube channel, which features humorous videos exposing shoplifters, Babir Sultan, president and CEO of the Kansas City-based retailer, said in an email.

Dive Insight:

Sultan is calling FavTrip’s newest location its “flagship” store, since it’s the company’s first location that it built from scratch. For its other two stores — in Kansas City and Independence, Missouri — FavTrip acquired existing stores and converted them to its brand, Sultan said in an email.

The city of Grandview isn’t just the site of FavTrip’s newest store, but also where Sultan got his start in the c-store industry, working the register for a Valero gas station 16 years ago, he said.

"We are thrilled to bring this new store to the Grandview community," Sultan said in the announcement. "We are committed to providing our customers with the best fuel and convenience products available, and our new location will help us deliver on that promise.”

FavTrip will hold a grand opening celebration Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Central Standard Time. Attendees can expect various offers and discounts, as well as giveaways and snacks.

Founded in 2011, FavTrip refers to itself as a “fun and edgy brand with attitude,” according to the announcement. The company’s unique social media game has taken it to national heights. In 2022 alone, FavTrip’s YouTube videos had 3.7 million views, 5.8 million minutes of watch time and garnered 121,600 likes. The channel as a whole added 25,000 new subscribers that year, and when combining YouTube and TikTok, FavTrip has amassed nearly 125,000 subscribers.