CASPER, Wyo. — A brand that has been part of Wyoming’s convenience store landscape for years will soon be part of the past.
Starting in January, all Kum & Go stores will start the conversion into Maverik stores in Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming, according to a statement from Maverik CEO Chuck Maggelet. The rebranding is taking place in states where the Maverik brand has been well established, and will affect somewhere between 120 and 140 stores.
The disclosure comes months after it was announced last spring that Maverik’s parent company, FJ Management, would be buying the stores from the Krause Group. Maverik also acquired Solar Transport from the Krause Group. Solar Transport is described as a tank truck carrier and logistic provider.
At the time, no word about the Kum & Go brand’s future was given.
The remaining Kum & Go stores in other states will be integrated into the Maverik umbrella “without necessarily rebranding,” said Maggelet in the statement, adding that the situation will continue to be evaluated for future changes.
The acquisition gives the company a footprint of more than 800 stores across 20 states, with some 14,000 employees.
According to the Des Moines Register, Maverik’s parent, FJ Management, is a private company that owns oil refineries, banks and insurance businesses, along with convenience stores. The company also co-owns the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain that is familiar to many Wyoming drivers. Berkshire Hathaway and Pilot Corp. are the chain’s other partners.
Kum & Go’s first store opened in 1959 in Hampton, Iowa, according to its website, and is the brand is now based in Des Moines, Iowa. Maverik said it is finalizing office space for a “Base Camp Des Moines,” mirroring its corporate headquarters in Salt Lake City.
According to its website, Maverik’s roots can be traced back to Wyoming native Reuel Call, who opened up his first two-pump gas station in Afton in 1928.
