73-year-old convenience store brand disappears after sale | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

When I was a kid, Richdale’s and White Hen Pantry were our local convenience store chains. I preferred Richdale’s because they had Slush Puppie machines that let you pump in as much flavor syrup as you wanted.

Consumers actually have deep loyalty to their convenience store brand of choice.

“Eighty-one percent of these shoppers typically visit the same c-store brand each time they make a visit and among them, 86% typically visit the same specific c-store location every time,” according to the 2023 Convenience Store News Realities of the Aisle Study, which surveyed 1,500 consumers who shop a c-store at least once a month.

Convenience-store operators can influence how customers feel.

“By personalizing the customer experience and offering specials and exclusive offers,convenience stores can foster brand loyalty and build a strong customer base,” according to Commercial Zone Products’ Convenience Store Trends white paper.

“That brand loyalty goes a long way, as 72% of customers are willing to pay more to purchase from their preferred brands, and 70% cite the loyalty program of their favorite brand as either ‘important’ or ‘critically important’ to winning their lasting businesses.”

Loyalty and customer behavior make rebranding convenience stores a special challenge. That’s a challenge Casey’s General Store has decided to take on.

Casey’s bought CEFCO’s parent company

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. completed its purchase of Fikes Wholesale (“Fikes”), owner of CEFCO Convenience Stores, on November 1, 2024. The acquisition will bring 148 additional stores to Texas, “which is a highly strategic market for Casey’s, as well as 50 stores in the southern states of Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi,” according to a press release.

This purchase brings Casey’s total store count to approximately 2,900 stores.

“This acquisition is the largest in Casey’s history and in line with the strategic plan laid out at the June 2023 Investor Day,” said Casey’s General Store CEO Darren Rebelez. “We are thrilled to complete this transaction, welcome Fikes to the Casey’s team, and look forward to bringing Casey’s pizza to these high-volume stores.”

Convenience store sales are driven by customer loyalty.

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CEFCO origins and growth before Casey’s sale

1952: CEFCO traces its roots back to 1952, when the predecessor company opened a single “filling station” (gas station) in Cameron, Texas, under its parent company Fikes Wholesale, Inc., according to Casey’s Investor Relations.
1979: The first official CEFCO convenience store (not just a filling station) was opened by Fikes Wholesale, reported CStore Decisions.
1994-2006: During that period, CEFCO experienced rapid expansion, with average growth of more than 20% per year and the addition of many new stores, shared CStore Decisions.
2007: CEFCO (via Fikes) acquired an operator called Deweese Enterprises Inc., which operated 45 convenience stores in Mississippi and Alabama, marking a step in its expansion via acquisition, reported Holt Enterprise News.
2014: The first CEFCO store in Florida opened, added Holt Enterprise News.
2017: Establishment of the Fikes Foundation, showing a commitment by the company and its owners to philanthropy/community support, Convenience reported.
2023 (Nov. 7): The company held its annual “Hackers‑R‑Us” charity golf tournament, raising over US$450,000 for the Fikes Foundation, Convenience added.

Casey’s is rebranding CEFCO’s stores

As of April 30, 2025, Casey’s General Stores, Inc. and its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries operate convenience stores primarily under the names “Casey’s” and “Casey’s General Store.” It has also kept the CEFCO name and used “GoodStop,” “Bucky’s,” and “Lone Star Food Store” in select locations, according to Casey’s General Stores’ annual report.

The company has decided to eliminate the CEFCO name and rebrand those stores under the Casey’s General Store name.

CEO Darren Rebelez explained why it plans to make the change and sunset the CEFCO name during Casey’s second-quarter earings call.

“Clearly, the CEFCO stores are carrying a lower margin than the Casey’s stores, both in prepared foods and in grocery and general merchandise. And that’s because there’s still CEFCO stores. They’re not Casey’s stores yet. Now that effort in terms of rebranding will start to kick off in earnest at the beginning of the calendar year,” he said.

Casey’s has a plan to make that happen.

“We’ll start converting their larger stores that have kitchens in them already. Those are a little bit easier from a conversion standpoint. And then we’ll, once we get those done, then we’ll start to convert the other stores,” he added.

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The change, the CEO noted is expected to have a positive impact on sales.

“So we would expect that, that trajectory will change a bit on the prepared food side, in particular, once we get those kitchens in and they’re rebranded to Casey’s and they get our full assortment with private label and all the rest,” he shared.

Major post‑acquisition updates for CEFCO/ Casey’s

On November 1, 2024, Casey’s closed the acquisition of Fikes Wholesale, the owner of CEFCO, bringing 198 CEFCO stores into Casey’s portfolio, according to Casey’s Investor Relations.
The deal added 148 stores in Texas and 50 stores across Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi, Casey’s Investor Relations shared.
As of April 30, 2025, Casey’s characterizes the acquired stores (CEFCO and others) as part of its network and reports they operate under a mix of banners, including “CEFCO,” even as integration continues, according to Casey’s General Stores annual report.
Casey’s committed to a roughly $150 million conversion and remodel effort to rebrand all CEFCO locations to Casey’s, install kitchens (for pizza and foodservice), and align store operations, according to C-Store Dive.
As of mid‑2025, Casey’s said it will start rebranding “in earnest” at the beginning of the next calendar year, prioritizing larger CEFCO stores with existing kitchens (so they don’t require new kitchen installs), the company shared in its second quarter earnings call.
The rebranding and remodeling process, including kitchen installation and operational transitions, is expected to take 3-4 years to complete across the full set of CEFCO stores, per Casey’s leadership, reported C-Store Dive.
During 2025, Casey’s pursued both integration of the acquired stores and organic expansion. For example, it filed plans for seven new store builds in Texas by the end of the year to continue growth beyond just rebranding CEFCO footprints, the company shared in its annual report.

Convenience store loyalty members deliver outsized value

High-frequency retail breeds high-value loyalty, when done right, according to PDI Technologies. On average:

Loyalty members spend 29% more and visit 1.5X more often than non-members.
They’re more likely to go inside after fueling—57% of loyalty members enter the store after gassing up, compared to 38% of nonmembers.
And, most notably, 15% of loyal customers generate 55 to 70% of total sales.

“In a channel where someone turning left instead of right can mean losing a customer, loyalty is your best defense, and offense, for retaining customers,” according to PDI Technologies.

Loyalty drives success in the c-store business.

C-stores in the upper half of loyalty transaction share see at least 80% of their members returning every month, according to the 2024 Loyalty Trend Report from loyalty technology company Paytronix. That rose to 85% for retailers in the 90th percentile and above.