Dive Brief:
- RaceTrac will soon open its first South Carolina locations in the cities of Greenville and St. George. The openings come nearly a year after revealing plans to enter the state, according to a Wednesday announcement.
- The St. George location is one of RaceTrac’s travel centers — its largest yet — while the Greenville store has an extended diesel offering in the forecourt. The openings are “tentatively” scheduled for Dec. 28 and 29, respectively, a company spokesperson confirmed. Both locations feature RaceTrac’s standard foodservice and loyalty programs and are expected to bring about 40 jobs to their communities.
- RaceTrac’s arrival in South Carolina underscores the company’s broader expansion plans, which also include its first locations in Indiana and Ohio.
Dive Insight:
News of RaceTrac expanding to South Carolina first surfaced in January when a local news report noted the retailer’s intention to open two stores in Columbia. RaceTrac confirmed this expansion several months later, but said its stores would instead be in Greenville and St. George, about 100 and 70 miles away from Columbia, respectively.
RaceTrac put “a great deal” of research into where it located these stores, and made its choices based on proximity to city centers and the needs of professional drivers across the state, Justen Giambalvo, vice president of construction, engineering and special projects at RaceTrac, said in the announcement.
“As we expand our locations in South Carolina, we hope to meet the demand for clean and convenient facilities for fleet drivers and commuters alike as they fuel up and get whatever they need to get them going,” he said.
Both stores’ forecourts include high-flow diesel canopies and diesel exhaust fluid at the pumps. The St. George travel center also features a large lot with additional high-flow diesel lanes, overnight truck parking and certified automated truck scales to meet driver demand.
Inside the store, both locations feature RaceTrac’s foodservice program, which offers grab-and-go pizza and sandwiches, whole cut fruit, salads, roller grill dogs and Tornadoes. The stores also offer RaceTrac’s popular Swirl World frozen yogurt and sorbet station, as well as its Crazy Good Coffee selection.
Atlanta-based RaceTrac operates over 580 convenience stores across Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Tennessee. It also operates or franchises over 200 RaceWay locations in 11 states along the lower East Coast and the South.
