DENVER — Denver-area stations must put reformulated gasoline (RFG) in their tanks this spring.
The region fell under the prohibited sale of conventional gasoline in November as the smog level reached unacceptable levels under the Clean Air Act. Denver thus joined areas in 17 other states included in the ban.
In June, the RVP standard of 7.4 psi takes effect for wholesale purchasers and in May for all other parties.
DENVER — Colorado convenience stores and other food retailers no longer may provide single-use plastic carry-out bags to customers.
They still may offer a paper bag, but only if it is made of recycled material and they must charge ten cents per bag.
It is the final stage of a law passed in 2021 to reduce the amount of plastic pollution. Last year customers still could get a plastic bag for a fee.
JOHNSTOWN — Colorado's first Buc-ees is expected to open here next month.
The 74,000-square-foot store lies just off Interstate 25 between Fort Collins and Greeley. It will be staffed by 400 people.
The cult favorite is known for its buck-toothed mascot. Building the store presented some challenges, management said, including unpredictable weather and the need to develop unique engineering to adjust for water drainage from the mountains.
MONUMENT — QuikTrip's first outlet in the Pikes Peak region opened here in December.
The Tulsa-based corporation has seven stores in the Denver area and northern Colorado but this is the farthest south it has ventured.
The store features an 8,200-square-foot travel center accommodating trucks as well as other vehicles.
To further other expansion plans, QuikTrip paid $4.1 million to purchase a whole shopping center in Colorado Springs. The chain will demolish the existing buildings and build a convenience store to its own design.
It also has contracted to buy a nearby office building that will be razed to construct a convenience store.
QuikTrip first entered the Colorado scene in 2022. Its store in Monument is the eighth to be opened. Most of the stores are 5,300-foot operations.
DENVER — Not everybody loves 7-Eleven. One landlord definitely wants to be rid of it.
Unico has sued the 7-Eleven corporation to get out of a lease in Lo-Do. In 2021 Unico paid $61.2 million for the five-story office building where 7-Eleven has been a tenant for eleven years and had just signed a lease extension to stay through 2026.
But Unico says 7-Eleven attracts vagrancy and crime that prevents it from renting out the office space above the downtown store. It cited a robbery at gunpoint that occurred two months after the purchase. Since then there has been a person who overdosed, a stabbing suspect who fled into the store, and a lot of vagrants hanging around. There also were four break-ins between October 4 and November 7 in 2023, the suit states.
Unico enhanced security for which it billed 7-Eleven, saying the corporation agreed in 2019 to pay for it, but 7-Eleven has reneged, claiming it is the responsibility of the landlord.
The convenience store chain said it is not doing anything to attract vagrants or criminals. "We are merely operating a legal business," 7-Eleven stated in its answer to the suit.
Unico maintains it has done its part by increasing the frequency of power-washing to deter the unsavory population. It also tried playing loud music, which has worked in some areas, but failed at this property. The offer 7-Eleven made to install a mist or water drip system is not an option in the Denver climate, Unico said.
DENVER — Colorado has had some of the fastest reductions in the price of gasoline in the United States.
In Denver the price per gallon dropped 51.5 cents in one month, 13.5 cents in one week.
Industry experts partly attributed the decline to lower seasonal demand.
PAGOSA SPRINGS — Gas station owners here are taking a beating from a newly-formed customer group called Citizens for Fair Fuel Pricing.
They are demanding an explanation as to why Pagosa gasoline prices are so much higher than other areas.
In an invitation to the retailers to come to a meeting on the subject they state:
"For the past two years fuel prices have been inflated here. In the past several months, while fuel prices have dropped considerably elsewhere we have noticed that regular unleaded remained well above $4 per gallon. A typical Pagosa family is spending an extra $9.21 each time they fill their tank.
"Per the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corp., the percentage of Archuleta County households living at or below the poverty line was 8.3 percent."
The group says higher prices work to the detriment of the county as it has led many to travel to other cities where the price is cheaper. This reduces tax revenue in the county. Gas stations are hurting themselves, because fewer customers mean fewer sales of snacks as well as fuel.
The group is urging citizens to file a complaint with the Colorado Attorney General.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — One way to lower the cost of gasoline is with a price war, which may be good for the consumer, but not so for the retailers who have to keep up with competitors.
It all started when QuikTrip came on the scene here and started offering lower prices, often dropping them as much as three times a day.
The three other gasoline stations on the same stretch of road then followed suit.
Even though QuikTrip likely lost money on the sale of fuel, it was counting on getting a surge of customers who would enter the store and buy its products, according to analysts who say most drivers do that.
AKRON — This city's first car wash with an automated system has been installed here.
Pat and Stephanie O'Neil named it Mick & Mack's Scrub Shack after their sons, Macklin and Micky.
They purchased the wash from Andrew Timmerman of Sterling, and although they never have been in this type of enterprise they are going all-out to make it a success.
Among the innovations are a credit card pay option, a self-serve bay with a foam cannon, and a new surveillance system.
AURORA — It can be dangerous to use contactless payment at some convenience store gasoline pumps.
Police have issued a warning that scammers are drilling holes in the contactless payment screens, forcing consumers to use the swipe option where a skimmer has been installed. In as little as twelve seconds, a scammer can capture card information, authorities say.
In a twist, authorities warn, an informational on-line link to sites where this is allegedly happening is itself a scam intended to grab consumer ID.
DENVER — Kwik Stop executive M. David May faced the same problems with inflation as other convenience store operators, but he has found ways to grow his business to offset them.
The key is to sell "easy to eat on the road" products, he says. One example is a rolled-up pizza crust stuffed with bacon, egg, cheese and sausage gravy, a four-bites-in-one container that he can market for $3.59. Another is a fried chicken burrito.
He also keeps tabs on the competition to see what new ideas sell and then he fashions his own version.
In Colorado, Kwik Stop has 37 grab-and-go locations, mostly in rural areas. It also operates in Nebraska.
GRAND JUNCTION — Colorado Mesa University has its own convenience store, Rowdy's, which sells products geared to the student market.
Sodas, fresh-brewed Aspretto coffee, fresh pastries, sandwiches and salad wraps, some which are gluten-free and allergen free, are among the offerings.
Originally published in the February 2024 issue of the O&A Marketing News.
© KAL Publications Inc. 2024