Turkey Hill Minit Markets is an American chain of convenience stores founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1967. As of October 2017, Turkey Hill Minit Markets had over 260 locations across Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Turkey Hill Minit Markets is owned by

EG Group EG Group is a British retailer headquartered in Blackburn, United Kingdom, which operates filling stations, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants in Europe, the United States and Australia. The group was created through the combination of ...

and operated independently from Turkey Hill, a separate Peak Rock Capital-owned brand of iced tea, ice cream and other beverages and frozen desserts.

History

In 1967, Charles and Emerson Frey opened the first Turkey Hill Minit Markets store on Columbia Avenue in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as a way to better market their dairy products.Minit Market timeline
The stores operated as a separate business
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Farmland Industries Farmland Industries was the largest agricultural cooperative in North America when it eventually sold all of its assets in 2002–04. During its 74-year history, Farmland served its farmer membership as a diversified, integrated organization, pla ...

- with the headquarters in the original store basement. In 1978, they built their current headquarters at 257 Centerville Road in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. On December 19, 1974, the stores won a legal battle overturning the so-called '' blue laws'' that prohibited retailers opening on Sunday, and in 1976, they became the first company to offer

self-service Self-service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when making purchases. Aside from Automated Teller Machines, which are not limited to banks, and customer-operated supermarket check-out, labor-saving of which has been described as self- ...

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...

. In 1979, Turkey Hill Minit Market purchased 36 Louden Hill stores. In July 1985, Turkey Hill acquired a number of 7-Eleven stores and six Ideal Markets. In Lancaster County, where the chain originated, Turkey Hill Minit Markets were the overwhelming convenience store choice; in some cases, stores were located as close as three blocks apart. In 1985,

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...

acquired both Turkey Hill Minit Markets and Turkey Hill Dairy, which manufactures various beverages, fruit-flavored drinks and dairy products, including milk and ice cream. Kroger continued to operate both brands as separate, independent entities. During the 1990s, Turkey Hill and competitors

Sheetz Sheetz, Inc. is an American chain of convenience stores and coffee shops owned by the Sheetz family. The stores sell custom food, beverages and convenience store items, with all locations having offered 24/7 service since the 1980s. Nearly all of ...

and Wawa began overlapping their regions of service. John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil commented on the new situation in sworn testimony before the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Committee on the Judiciary in March 2006: "We are seeing healthy new retail competition emerging with brands such as Wawa, Sheetz, and Turkey Hill." Turkeyhillrohrerstown

In 1998, Turkey Hill opened its 249th store in

Hazleton, Pennsylvania Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second largest city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on Decembe ...

. This store was the first of many stores to open with foodservice offerings. Foodservice offerings included fresh hoagies,

sandwiches A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

, pizza, and many other hot foods. Many new stores are built with foodservice and car washes. Beginning in 1999, new larger stores were opened with more of an emphasis on selling gasoline. About 200 of the 240 stores in Central Pennsylvania have gas pumps.Minit Market Company History
In October 2017, Kroger disclosed that it was considering the potential sale of Turkey Hill Minit Markets as well as four other convenience store brands -

Kwik Shop Kwik Shop is a chain of convenience stores and gas stations located throughout Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. They offer cold beverages, coffee, snack items, general foods, lottery tickets, and gasoline. It is owned by EG Group#EG America, EG Americ ...

Loaf 'N Jug Loaf 'N Jug is a chain of convenience stores/Filling station, gas stations, owned by EG Group#EG America, EG America, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, Westborough, MA. Kroger owned Loaf 'N Jug and its respective brands for over two de ...

, Quik Stop, and

Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tan ...

. Any potential sale would exclude Turkey Hill Dairy, which is operated separately from the convenience store chain. In early February 2018, Kroger announced it had reached an agreement to sell Turkey Hill Minit Markets and its entire convenience-store portfolio to

, forming the basis of EG America. The sale was finalized on April 20, 2018. The following year, EG America purchased Columbus, Ohio-based Certified Oil, leading to Turkey Hill's Columbus area locations to be marketed together with Certified. EG America's purchase of

Cumberland Farms Cumberland Farms, colloquially known as Cumby's, is a regional chain of convenience stores based in Westborough, Massachusetts, operating primarily in New York, New England and Florida. Cumberland Farms operates 566 retail stores, gas stations, ...

shortly afterwards allowed Turkey Hill and all of EG America to sell Cumberland Farms-branded

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

products. On January 27, 2020, Burger King opened a location inside a Turkey Hill store in Cumru Township, Pennsylvania. This marks the beginning of a plan by EG Group to add fast food franchises at several Turkey Hill locations in order to update food service offerings, including

Sbarro Sbarro, LLC is an American pizzeria chain that specializes in New York-style pizza sold by the slice and other Italian-American cuisine. In 2011, the company was ranked 15th in foreign sales among U.S.-based quick-serve and fast-casual comp ...

at its

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

locations.

Branding changes

In 2004, the stores adopted the current signage, featuring a stylized map of the contiguous United States. EG America's

, Quik Stop, and

brands all use the same logo and font.

In popular culture

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

Season 5 episode "Weight Loss," a Turkey Hill advertisement is seen in the background when Jim proposes to Pam. This is one of many Easter eggs throughout the show that serve to remind viewers that The Office is set in Pennsylvania. A Turkey Hill market is featured in the 2021 novel, "Black-Haired Boy" where a character, Kody Kurtz, works as a cashier at a fictional location in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

Turkey Hill Minit Market's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkey Hill Minit Markets Kroger 1967 establishments in Pennsylvania Convenience stores of the United States Companies based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Retail companies established in 1967 Gas stations in the United States 1985 mergers and acquisitions 2018 mergers and acquisitions