Southwest Georgia Oil transforms convenience stores into a hot destination for homemade cooking
Nearly three years after our interview with Southwest Georgia Oil (SWGO) for Retail Merchandiser, Glennie Bench, who is now President, fills us in on the company’s latest endeavors. “A lot has been happening since we last spoke. At the time, we had just opened two of our current prototype stores: one was a raze and rebuild and the other was a new-to-market store. Both ended up surpassing our expectations, prompting us to build another raze and rebuild as well as four new-to-market stores. Most of them have performed very well, and we believe that they have a great future ahead of them. Indeed, we have seen tremendous growth since our last feature,” she opens.
“In addition to that, we standardized the exterior appearance of all convenience and market stores under the SunStop brand, ensuring the curb appeal looked the same everywhere. We also began the rigorous process of renovating, remodeling and refreshing the interior of the stores. As you can imagine, with 80 stores acquired in a variety of locations over many years, we needed to allocate different levels of attention to each one of them. Some stores needed significant updates, like adding or expanding delis and undertaking extensive renovations, almost gutting and rebuilding from scratch. In other cases, we only undertook minor modifications, such as installing interior graphics. Although we have not yet completed this process – which can be very expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to our operations – we are carrying out these improvements as opportunities present themselves,” she goes on.
Connecting convenience 
Michelle Weckstein, Director of Food and Beverage Brands, tells us more about the products SWGO delivers both within its flagship SunStop stores and its Eat’s Southern Cookin’ (Eat’s) delis. “Unlike other convenience stores, we run a genuine southern kitchen where our recipes are made from scratch. When customers come into our stores, they get real, fresh food without processed ingredients from our Eat’s delis. We are best known for our chicken tenders and, believe it or not, our gizzards, which are an integral part of southern cuisine. Our customers also particularly love our homemade meatloaf, baked fish, and fried chicken. These are some of our core menu items which set us apart from the competition. In addition, we have recently introduced flatbreads and toasted hoagies – offering pepperoni flatbreads for guests looking for something traditional, but also incorporating more trendy options like Baja Chicken, Pesto Chicken and Chicken Bacon Ranch. When it comes to the retail side of the business, our SunStop stores provide essential convenience items across every single category. Beyond the basics, we also ensure that we offer items that are on trend. Our retail marketing team does a brilliant job of identifying trendy products, allowing us to be among the first to offer some of them and appeal to customers,” she elaborates.
With SWGO expected to attend the next National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) event in October, Michelle sheds light on what the company will be doing at the show. “This is my second year participating in the Supplier Session: Convenience Connect at the NACS Show, and I feel honored to be part of it. I find the experience very rewarding because it offers us a first-hand opportunity to interact with new suppliers and vendors, many of whom have never attended NACS before. By teaching them about the convenience industry, I believe we will make it easier for them to approach other retailers and sell their products. This way, they can understand what retailers are looking for and what they need in their business, which is crucial to forming a strong partnership. I particularly enjoy this aspect of the NACS Show,” she expresses. SWGO will have three other speakers sharing at NACS about other various convenience topics.
Product ideation
Beyond actively contributing to the NACS Show, SWGO also participates in numerous other events. Michelle describes the advantages these events offer the company. “Apart from NACS, we engage with industry events by the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores (GACS), SIGMA, P&CMA, FPMA and a multitude of other organizations. Though each of these events offers its own benefits, NACS is particularly important to us as it is where product ideation starts for our food and beverage program. So, we primarily participate in it for that reason, but also for the educational sessions. The convenience industry is so vast that it can be almost overwhelming for newcomers. However, the longer they stay in the business and the more often they network at NACS, the more they make connections that bring the industry into perspective, so much so, that they see the sector is actually much smaller and more interconnected than first thought. Thus, for us, the connections and networking opportunities provided are the best part about participating in NACS events.”
Glennie goes on to share exclusive insights into exciting ongoing developments, some led by the family of Mike Harrell, CEO. “Mike’s daughter and niece are growing the company in innovative ways by opening Jeremiah’s – an Italian soft serve ice cream franchise – as well as Eliano’s – a coffee drive-through. Mike’s daughter, Perra, a certified public accountant, works on the company’s accounting staff.
Michelle has also conducted extensive research on branded food and franchise opportunities to offer a broader range of products within Eat’s. “Additionally, we began developing a new-to-market store in Tallahassee, Florida, with another scheduled to open next year. Furthermore,” she concludes, “we are also embarking on another raze and rebuild project, this time in Lake City, Florida.”