GoMart, Inc. is a
convenience store
A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...
chain based in
Gassaway, West Virginia. The company currently operates over 100 stores in most of the state of
West Virginia, and border areas of
Virginia and
Ohio. All Go-Mart stations are unbranded. Go-Mart is the 53rd-largest convenience store chain in the United States.
History
1914–1970s: Precursor
Go-Mart traces its history to 1914 when brothers Fred, Charles and Rod Heater, operating as the Heater Oil Co., began selling axle grease, kerosene and other petroleum products to farms and businesses in central West Virginia, using flat-bottomed boats on the
Little Kanawha River
The Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 169 mi (269 km) long,Gilchrist-Stalnaker, Joy Gregoire. 2006. "Little Kanawha River." ''The West Virginia Encyclopedia''. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virgi ...
.
By the early 1920s the Heater brothers were operating bulk plants along railroad lines, and following the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and the death of Charles Heater, Fred Heater decided to centralize the business in Gassaway, where it is headquartered today. In the early 1960s, Fred Heater's health was failing and he sold the business to his sons, John, William and James.
1970s: Founding
When self-service gasoline pumps were legalized in West Virginia in 1970, the Heaters built the state's first self-service gas station, in
Shinnston, and called it "Go-Tron." Six months later they rebuilt their Gassaway store into their first
convenience food and gas store and Manager Karen Sattler named it "Go-Mart" after an employee contest. By 1977, Go-Mart had 16 stores.
1980s–present: Expansion
Originally it used
Chevron branding, as Chevron did not do business in the area, although it sourced its gasoline privately. When Chevron moved into the area as a part of the collapse of
Gulf Oil (Chevron ultimately withdrew from West Virginia in 2010),
it switched to unbranded products, and later converted some stations to
Shell. The company now employs approximately 1,200 people and is the state's 41st largest private employer.
[http://www.csnews.com/csn/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003188288]
References
External links
*
Go-Mart company profile at Yahoo! Biz
{{Convenience stores
Braxton County, West Virginia
Companies based in West Virginia
Economy of the Eastern United States
Convenience stores of the United States
Gas stations in the United States