Dive Brief:
- Major Oil, which operates the Joltz c-store banner, has opened its first two locations, according to a company announcement.
- The stores are located in St. Elizabeth and Freeburg, Missouri. Major Oil, which is based in Birmingham, Alabama, plans to eventually reach 500 locations in several markets, from Missouri down to Texas and eastward all the way to the East Coast from North Carolina to Florida, CEO Major Itule said in an interview with C-Store Dive.
- While these first two locations will be traditional c-stores, most Joltz locations will reflect Major Oil’s “hybrid energy station” model, which features portable above-ground storage tanks and Amazon’s Just Walk Out in-store frictionless checkout technology.
Dive Insight:
Prior to launching Major Oil and Joltz c-stores, Itule spent several years working at various point-of-sale companies in the c-store industry. These two Joltz locations in Missouri — the first c-stores Itule has operated — will serve as a launchpad for Major Oil to familiarize itself with the particulars of daily c-store operations before the company continues its hybrid energy journey.
“This gives us the ability to go out and learn how to run the traditional c-store over the next couple of months, and then take that model and automate it into the Amazon Just Walk Out stores,” Itule said.
Itule said Major Oil’s first hybrid energy stations are expected to open sometime between the end of Q4 2024 and Q1 2025. With this model, Major Oil plans to take over older gas stations, remove their underground storage tanks and canopies and install an above-ground fuel management system.
Each location will feature two 12,000-gallon above-ground tanks, which can be modified to dispense both biodiesel and regular fuels. The Just Walk Out-equipped Joltz convenience stores — each expected to be about 975 square feet — will be nestled between the two tanks.
Major Oil is developing this c-store model alongside American Development Partners, a full-service development company and design-focused private equity firm based in Nashville, Tennessee.
