The Pantry, Inc. () was a publicly traded

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 Cary, North Carolina that operated Kangaroo Express stores. The Pantry was founded in 1967 by Sam Wornom and Truby Proctor, Jr. in Sanford, North Carolina The company has been publicly traded since June 1999 and owned by investors since 1987, when then investor Montrose Capital purchased controlling shares from Wornom and Proctor. Recent CEOs have included the former chairman of the board and interim CEO Edwin J. Holman, who took over after Terrance M. Marks, the former president and CEO, resigned in December 2011. (Marks had replaced the longtime former CEO Peter Sodini who had held office since 1996 until retiring in September 2009.) Dennis Hatchell was the CEO of the company as of 2012. The Pantry was one of the United States' largest convenience store chains and the leading independently operated chain in the southeastern U.S. As of September 29, 2014, the company operated 1,518 stores in thirteen states under several banners, including its primary operating banner Kangaroo Express. States include

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Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Georgia,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

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Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. On December 18, 2014, Quebec based Alimentation Couche-Tard, the parent company of Circle K, announced its plans to acquire The Pantry for $860 million (~$ in ) all cash tender. The acquisition was completed in March 2015, increasing Couche-Tard's presence in the Southeast and Gulf Coast. Most Kangaroo Express stores were converted to Circle K stores. Couche-Tard later began to trial a revival of the Kangaroo Express banner for use as a franchise brand.

Overview

It was the largest independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States. The Pantry expanded rapidly during the late 1980s into the 2000s through various acquisitions. In 2008, it was announced that all Pantry stores would be rebranded under its primary operating banner, ''Kangaroo Express''. In 2009, the company moved its headquarters from Sanford, North Carolina, to Cary, North Carolina.

Products and services

The Pantry offered its own private label "Kangaroo" brand of gasoline, and operated 250 in-store quick-service restaurants. Additionally, 285 stores sold

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gasoline under a co-branding agreement. The Kangaroo Express chain offered "Bean Street Coffee Company", its own brand of coffee, and its own private label for selected merchandise, and Roo's Water its own label for bottled water. Company promotions included "Freeze the Swamp" in Florida, "The Battle for Bean Street" in North Carolina's Triangle Area stores, Salute Our Troops, and Roo Cup. In 2009, then-new CEO Terrance M. Marks announced that all its stores would expand their food service offerings to include fresh fruits, improved sandwiches, and more merchandise options. Select stores offer fast food outlets such as

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and

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. In 2010, its "Fresh Initiative" was announced to improve the Bean Street Coffee Service, revamp nearly all Kangaroo Express stores, and add more appealing meals and snacks. The program was planned to encompass all stores by end of 2012. More than half of Kangaroo Express stores were located within 25 miles of a military installation. The company has raised millions of dollars each year for military support organizations as part of its summer-long Salute Our Troops fundraising campaign. In 2014, the first military-themed Kangaroo Express store opened in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

. Kangaroo Express hosted a round table at the USO of North Carolina Fort Bragg Center to collect input from servicemen and women, their spouses and children, and the store design was developed as a direct result of their feedback.

Acquisitions

* 1997 "Lil’ Champ", of

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* 1998 "Quick Stop", of

* 1998 "Zip Mart", primarily of

* 1999 "Etna", of

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

, from Taylor Oil * 1999 "Handy Way Stores", of

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, from Miller * 2000 "Kangaroo", from Kangaroo Inc. * 2000 "On-the-Way Foods", from McKnight Oil * 2003 "Golden Gallon", of

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* 2005 "Cowboys" of

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from D & D Oil Co. * 2007 "

Petro Express Petro Express was a multi-store convenience chain based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their stores were located in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and neighboring counties. On January 9, 2007 The Pantry, Inc. of Sanford, North Carolina announ ...

", of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

* 2011 "Presto", of Olathe, Kansas

Awards and acknowledgements

* Fortune 500 - since 2007 * Convenience Store News 2012 Grand Spirit Award * Convenience Store News 2011 Spirit Award for companies with 500-plus stores * Convenience Store News 2014 Best Original Store Design * Convenience Store News 2014 Gold Medal Award Best Food Service/ LTO Promo

References

External links

* (Archived fro
the original
on 28 April 2016)
Kangaroo Express
website {{DEFAULTSORT:Pantry Companies based in Cary, North Carolina Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Convenience stores of the United States Economy of the Southeastern United States Gas stations in the United States Retail companies established in 1967 Retail companies disestablished in 2015 1967 establishments in North Carolina 2015 disestablishments in North Carolina Defunct retail companies of the United States Alimentation Couche-Tard Defunct companies based in North Carolina