Convenience Retailers Prepare to Move Into New Markets

Kum & Go will be opening in Detroit in 2023 and Royal Farms is planning new stores in North Carolina

KUM & GO LC is adding a new market to its expansion plans. The convenience store retailer will welcome customers at a set of Detroitarea stores in 2024, with plans to open more than 50 stores in the market over the next several years.

The Des Moines, Iowa-based chain made news last year with announcements that it would enter Utah and Michigan. This year, the company revealed it will also set up shop in Idaho. Family-owned Kum & Go will open in Grand Rapids, Mich., Salt Lake City, and Boise, Idaho, over the next year, bringing its retail footprint to 14 states.

“We are excited to announce our entry into the Detroit market. We’ve been warmly welcomed as we prepare to enter the Grand Rapids area, and with the addition of Detroit, believe Kum & Go will be the lead convenience operator across the state as we continue our growth and expansion,” said CEO Tanner Krause. “Michigan is full of great people and great communities, and we know Kum & Go’s fresh perspective to convenience will create many opportunities there.”

Kum & Go will bring a fresh perspective centered around people, food and digital technology to Detroit and the surrounding communities, the company stated.

Established in Hampton, Iowa in 1959, Kum & Go is a fourth-generation, family-owned convenience store chain with more than 400 stores in 11 states.

As Kum & Go prepares for expansion, Baltimorebased Royal Farms plans to open its first convenience store in North Carolina early next year. The retailer’s first store will open in Grandy, with additional sites planned for New Bern, Greenville, Lumberton, Kinston and Jacksonville, N.C.

“We are very excited to pioneer into the First Flight State and expand our offerings into the community. Not only does Royal Farms bring value and more convenient options to neighborhoods, but we are also passionate about giving back to the areas we do business in,” said Aliyah Atayee, public relations manager at Royal Farms.

Royal Farms plans to eventually open more locations in other areas of the state to provide the North Carolina community with more convenient options, the company stated.

Founded in 1959, Royal Farms operates more than 260 locations throughout the Mid-Atlantic, including Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.