GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — S. Abraham & Sons Inc. (SAS), a leading wholesale distributor specializing in the food industry, will introduce its new FreshBite Cafe at its annual Foodservice Showcase on Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. SAS services retail stores throughout the Midwest.

FreshBite Cafe is a concept that brings all of SAS’ foodservice offerings under one umbrella and provides convenience-store operators the opportunity to offer a wide array of meal solutions for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as healthy snacking alternatives—including cheeses, fruits and vegetables—to its customers throughout the day, according to the company.

FreshBite Cafe will also feature a wide selection of hot and cold beverages. Brands featured in the FreshBite Cafe will be the SAS signature line of Fruit Ridge Farms, which includes fresh-made wedge sandwiches, paninis, subs, salads, meal entrees, soups, meat snacks, veggie and fruit cups, and pastries.

The Foodservice Showcase will feature more than 50 exhibitors representing 70 product lines. New programs that are available through SAS and highlighted at the show include General Mills Yoplait Yogurt Parfait Kits, Dean Foods/Country Fresh Milk, Nitro Cold-Brew Coffee, Bob Evans single-serve products, Deli Express Market Salads, and packaged fresh meat for retail by Chef’s Requested Meats.

Other SAS favorite programs featured at the show will include Hot off the Grill roller-grill program, Fresh From the Deli cooler program, Showtime popcorn and Wisconsin cheese. SAS signature Beantown and Joe coffees also will be featured, as well as Revolution Tea.

SAS will also provide retailers the opportunity to see new equipment for production, including Bunn’s self-serve espresso equipment, Bunn infusion soft-heat brewing system, and Perfect Servings’ updated powdered cream and sugar program. Retailers also can learn how their employees can receive Level 1 ServeSafe Certification training.

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based S. Abraham & Sons Inc. is a grocery distributor servicing convenience stores, grocery stores, drugstores, campus retail outlets, and small-format stores in eight Midwest states.

ATLANTA — Two convenience-store owners in Georgia have been sentenced for using stolen identities to steal more than $395,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which offers nutritional assistance to low-income individuals and families.

The defendants, Jonathan and Stephanie Dupiton, illegally obtained SNAP benefits for themselves and then cashed them at stores they owned in several Georgia communities, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Dupitons owned and operated two c-stores in Cobb County, Ga.; J. Good Groceries in Mableton, Ga.; and Stephanie’s Groceries in Austell, Ga.

From July 2014 through October 2015, the defendants used stolen identities to apply for SNAP benefits, which were loaded onto electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, the department said. The Dupitons directed the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), which administers SNAP, to mail hundreds of EBT cards to addresses they controlled. The Dupitons then collected and swiped the fraudulent SNAP cards at their c-stores, officials said.

More than $800,000 in SNAP payments were deposited in their bank accounts. The DHS and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) were able to link $395,000 of those funds to 321 fraudulent SNAP accounts.

“This type of fraudulent activity undermines this vital program by misdirecting millions of dollars of taxpayer funds from the purposes [for which] they were intended,” said Karen Citizen-Wilcox, special agent in charge for the USDA’s Office of Inspector General.

Jonathan Dupiton, 28, of Atlanta was sentenced to three years, nine months in prison, and Stephanie Dupiton, 24, also of Atlanta, was sentenced to six months in prison. Both defendants were also sentenced to three years of supervised release, were charged a special assessment of $100, and ordered to pay $395,388.01 in restitution. Both defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud in April 2017, after pleading guilty to these charges. Jonathan Dupiton was also convicted of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence.

The USDA, DHS and Office of Inspector General investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Brown was the prosecutor.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — CrossAmerica Partners LP will acquire more than 100 retail sites from Jet Pep Inc. for a total consideration of $72 million. The assets consist of 102 commission-operated retail sites, including 92 fee sites, five lease sites and five independent commission accounts. The locations sold nearly 91 million gallons of unbranded fuel in 2016, according to CrossAmerica.

In addition, Circle K Stores Inc., a subsidiary of Alimentation Couche-Tard and the general partner of CrossAmerica, has also agreed to purchase certain other assets from Jet Pep Inc., including a fuel terminal, associated trucking equipment and 18 other retail sites, for an undisclosed amount.

“We are excited to acquire the assets of one of the largest fuel supply networks in Alabama,” said CrossAmerica President and CEO Jeremy Bergeron. “This acquisition expands our presence in the South and demonstrates our ability to execute on strategic M&A opportunities with our new general partner sponsor.”

The acquisition is subject to customary conditions to closing and is expected to close in the calendar fourth quarter of 2017. The partnership expects the acquisition to be accretive to distributable cash flow to limited partners.

Holly Pond, Ala.-based Jet Pep Inc. owns a network of stores across Alabama and historically has relied on a dealer-lessee network to operate the stores.

CrossAmerica Partners, Allentown, Pa., is a leading wholesale distributor of motor fuels and owner and lessor of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels. Its general partner, CrossAmerica GP LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Laval, Quebec.

MINNEAPOLIS — Against the objection of local convenience-store retailers, the Minneapolis City Council voted Friday to restrict the sale of menthol-flavored tobacco to adults-only stores.

In a vote of 10 to 2, council members passed an ordinance restricting the sale of all menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products flavored menthol, mint and wintergreen to stores that only allowed in customers who are 21 or older. They also passed an amendment to extend the effective date for a year, until Aug. 1, 2018, according to Thomas Briant, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO), Minneapolis. The rule would cut the number of outlets selling those products from 325 to 24.

The council passed a similar restriction on tobacco flavors other than menthol, mint and wintergreen in 2015, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2016.

“Banning the sale of this legal product will only drive these sales to a criminal and underground market and make the tobacco much more accessible to the youth,” said Ahmad Al-Hawwari, a c-store operator on the city’s north side. “There are so many issues the City Council should be looking at and dealing with. Why are they trying to push through this ban that could devastate my sales and store and close a family-owned business?”

“Retailers appreciate the Minneapolis City Council extending the effective date of the menthol sales ban to Aug. 1, 2018,” Briant told CSP Daily News, saying that a group called the Coalition of Neighborhood Retailers will proceed with a retail, economic-impact study that would document the financial hardship the ordinance would impose on Minneapolis convenience stores and corner markets. “If, as the Coalition expects, the study shows devastating sales losses, the closure of businesses and the layoff of employees, we are hopeful that the Minneapolis City Council revisits the menthol sales ban before it goes into effect a year from now.”

BOULDER, Colo. — In its 2015 midyear report, the Brewers Association noted the “strong pace” of volume growth—up 16% in the first half of the year—for the craft-beer industry. Last year, the nonprofit group hailed the “tremendous dynamism reflected in 8% growth” for craft beer.

In 2017, the association is settling for “stable” growth as category sales growth continues to slow across all channels of retail.

“The growth pace for small and independent brewers has stabilized at a rate that still reflects progress but in a more mature market. Although more difficult to realize, growth still exists,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association, Boulder, Colo.

Craft-beer brewers saw 5% volume growth during the first half of 2017, according to the association, the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers.

“The beer world is highly competitive and there is certainly a mixed bag in terms of performance,” Watson said. “Some breweries are continuing to grow, whereas others are having to evolve their position and nurture new opportunities to ensure they keep pace. Many brewers are benefiting from on-premises and taproom sales, and recent state-based reforms have the potential to help brewers in new regions capitalize on this growth.”

As of June 30, there were 5,562 operating breweries in the U.S., an increase of 906 from the same time period the previous year. Additionally, there were approximately 2,739 breweries in planning.

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Pinnacle Corp.’s recent integration of its Palm POS with the Patron Points loyalty platform is being beta tested for select client partners.

Through Palm’s loyalty partner interface, Patron Points built an interface to its host loyalty application that can access all of the feature functionality benefits of Palm POS, while allowing them to expand their loyalty solution to Palm convenience-retail clients.

“While Pinnacle offers a completely integrated POS, loyalty rewards and mobile-app solution suite, we understand retailers are looking for Pinnacle products to integrate with multiple solutions platforms, to optimize their hardware and software investments,” said Melissa Fox Hadley, director of product management at Pinnacle. “Pinnacle has a long history of partnership and collaboration with Patron Points, and we are proud to be able to support the Patron Points loyalty program, fully integrated with Pinnacle POS.”

Patron Points has been providing customizable loyalty programs exclusively for the convenience-store industry since 2004. Patron Points works with single-store owners as well as large chains. Based in Oakdale, Minn., it is currently marketed in 24 states.

“To be able to interface with Pinnacle’s Palm POS system has been a high priority for our company for the better [part] of a year,” said Erik Ogren, president of Patron Points. “As we examined the retail landscapes, so many phenomenal retailers utilize the Palm POS system. It has been a fantastic experience working with the development team at Pinnacle and we are very excited about what we have developed.”

The Pinnacle Corp. provides leading-edge point-of-sale, loyalty, and both corporate- and consumer-facing mobile technology to the convenience-store industry.

Arlington, Texas-based Pinnacle delivers products that drive traffic and increase profits, while helping retailers retain consumer loyalty and enhancing labor efficiency. Nationwide, Pinnacle’s products and services are used daily in convenience outlets to improve their store operations and extend the brand of retailers through the ever-increasing mobile landscape.

TEMPLE, Texas — McLane Co. and Oklahoma City-based Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. have renewed their longtime service agreement. As part of this extended agreement, McLane will continue to deliver to more than 430 Love’s convenience stores across 41 states.

The agreement will enable Temple, Texas-based McLane to continue serving the retailer as it grows at a pace of approximately 40 to 50 stores per year, the company said in a release.

“McLane continually shows commitment to our business,” said Mark Romig, director of merchandising for Love’s Travel Stops. “McLane’s Center for Category Innovation assists our team with exceptional category-management resources, enabling us to grow sales year over year. McLane’s national scope allows us to achieve our growth goals while meeting the needs of our customers in an efficient way.”

The contract, renewed in July 2017, allows McLane to continue its supply-chain service, providing grocery and foodservice solutions to the retailer.

“Love’s provides a rewarding experience for its customers, and we are honored they chose to continue to utilize our best-in-class resources. McLane’s procurement, technology and operations provide our customers superior service and consistency of performance, as well as expanded product offerings, regardless of location. As Love’s continues to expand their network, McLane will be there to assist in reducing cost and driving efficiency at retail,” said Vito Maurici, senior vice president of sales for McLane Grocery.

Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores was founded in 1964. It has contracted with McLane for product distribution for 21 years. The company has more than 430 locations in 41 states. The chain ranked No. 22 on CSP’s 2017 Top 202 list of the largest chains in the convenience-store industry.

McLane Company Inc. is one of the largest supply-chain services leaders, providing grocery and foodservice solutions for convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores and chain restaurants throughout the United States. McLane operates more than 80 distribution centers across the United States. The company buys, sells and delivers more than 50,000 different consumer products to nearly 110,000 locations across the United States.

ATLANTA – Allison Moran has stepped down as CEO of RaceTrac Petroleum Inc.

“As of July 24, Allison Moran no longer serves our company as CEO,” the company said in a statement provided to CSP Daily News. “RaceTrac will continue to benefit from Allison’s 23 years of experience as she remains a member of the board of directors.”

The company did not provide any specific details. A spokesperson said that RaceTrac is not for sale, and that Moran is leaving “for personal reasons.”

“The Bolch family remains committed to the continued success of RaceTrac and serving our guests as a third-generation family business,” it said. “Billy Milam, president, and Max McBrayer, chief supply officer, will work directly with executive chairman of the board Carl Bolch Jr. McBrayer will also serve as RaceTrac’s interim chief financial officer. Daily operations will not be impacted as RaceTrac continues to serve our guests, deliver innovative food options and create career opportunities for our 8,500 team members.”

RaceTrac chairman and CEO Carl Bolch Jr. handed over one of the reins of the c-store chain to his eldest daughter in late 2012. Bolch held both titles for most of his 45 years with RaceTrac before transitioning to Moran. (Carl Bolch Jr. was CSP’s Retail Leader of the Year in 2009.)

Prior to that time, Moran had more than 18 years of experience at RaceTrac and is responsible for the creation and development of the company’s human resources department. She then led the largest division, RaceTrac company-operated stores. In this role, she spearheaded the group that conceived and executed the division’s newest store prototype, the RT6K.

Based in Atlanta, RaceTrac is composed of four operating divisions: RaceTrac, RaceWay, Energy Dispatch and Metroplex Energy. RaceTrac owns and operates more than 420 RaceTrac convenience-store locations across four Southern states: Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. RaceTrac also owns more than 330 RaceWay c-stores in 12 states across the Southeast.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – A high-profile convenience-store executive has moved to the upstream petroleum side of the business. Kim Lubel, former chairman, CEO and president of CST Brands Inc., has been elected as an independent director of PBF Energy Inc., effective Aug. 2.

Lubel left the San Antonio-based c-store retailer June 28, the day Laval, Quebec-based global c-store company Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. closed on its $4.4 billion acquisition of CST Brands.

“We are very pleased to have Kim join PBF’s board of directors,” said Thomas Nimbley, PBF’s chairman and CEO. “She brings a wealth of experience as an executive leader and independent director in the energy sector and is particularly knowledgeable about the independent refining sector. I expect her to be a valued contributor to the PBF Energy board.”

Lubel brings significant experience to PBF as a board member of public entities. She was with CST Brands from Jan. 1, 2013, to the end of June 2017. She also was chairman of CrossAmerica GP LLC, the general partner of Allentown, Pa.-based CrossAmerica Partners LP, from October 2014 to June 2017. And she was executive vice president and general counsel of San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp. from 2006 to 2012 and served as its vice president of legal services from 2003 to 2006.

Refiner-marketer Valero spun off CST Brands in 2013.

Lubel has been an independent director of WPX Energy Inc. since January 2012, where she is a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee.

In 2015, Fortune magazine named Lubel as one of the Most Powerful Women in Business.

CST Brands operated more than 2,000 c-stores throughout the southwestern United States, Georgia, Florida, New York and eastern Canada.

Couche-Tard’s network includes 8,081 c-stores throughout North America, including 6,710 stores selling motor fuel. Its North American network consists of 15 business units, including 11 in the United States covering 41 states and four in Canada covering all 10 provinces.

Parsippany, N.J.-based PBF Energy is one of the largest independent refiners in North America, operating oil refineries and related facilities in California, Delaware, Louisiana, New Jersey and Ohio. It also indirectly owns the general partner and approximately 44.1% of the limited partnership interest of PBF Logistics LP.

LAVAL, Quebec — In its recent fourth-quarter earnings call, Alimentation Couche-Tard detailed its plans for foodservice over the next year, with a specific focus on growth of its Simply Great Coffee program in North America.

“In the fourth quarter, we pursued our efforts to make Simply Great Coffee known to our customers throughout more of the network. This offer is now available in over 2,700 stores globally and has been a proven success in Europe,” said Brian Hannasch, Couche-Tard’s chief executive officer. “The next year will be dedicated to increasing customer awareness and trial here in North America. Our goal is to try to get customers to discover Simply Great Coffee’s exceptional taste and great value.”

Hannasch identified the specific domestic and international markets where Simply Great will be making a stronger push. “We will be finishing Ireland this year and then a good part of the Quebec and Atlantic markets here in Canada. We’ll be adding to 209 locations this year. And in the U.S. we’ve got pilot markets in Raleigh, N.C.; Southern California; and Chicago.

“We’ll also continue to invest in other key categories, such as cold beverage and fresh bakery, which have proven sales results in several markets that they have been integrated and rolled out into,” continued Hannasch.

Couche-Tard also pointed to future growth opportunities due to its planned acquisition of Minnesota-based Holiday Stationstores, a transaction that is expected to close during Q4 of fiscal 2018. “Holiday has a very impressive food commissary which supplies fresh and frozen foods for its stores,” said Hannasch.

“Holiday certainly provides a very interesting dimension that I think accelerates our food journey,” he said. “They have had a long time to really refine the offers they have, the products they have, what travels well, what freezes well, what can be reheated, and they turn out a high-quality product. So we certainly see an opportunity to leverage not only the commissary itself, but the learnings that Holiday has in … delivering fresh every day.”

Hannasch also called out Couche-Tard’s stores under the recently acquired CST Brands’ Corner Store brand, which it will focus on rebranding. That rebranding will include a rollout of core Circle K programs, such as the Polar Pop dispensed platform. Additionally, the company’s agreement to purchase 53 sites held by American General Investments and North American Financial Group was highlighted as a growth opportunity in Louisiana markets due to the on-site operations of Cracker Barrel restaurants and 11 quick-service restaurant units in the region.

Overall, foodservice represented 12% of Couche-Tard’s total in-store sales in fiscal 2017. “Our foodservice program in the U.S. is doing well,” said Claude Tessier, the company’s chief financial officer. “We are pleased with our food category, but there are still long ways to go in testing new concepts in the U.S. and [introducing] exciting new concepts in terms of food convenience that can bring good results.”

In light of all of Couche-Tard’s recent acquisitions, the company also announced that it is combining the foodservice teams from Holiday and CST Brands, “and they are working to identify best practices in both of the offers, menu and skew rationalization, one of the best items that we can do in both,” said Hannasch. In-house bakeries, fresh sandwiches and regional favorites tailored specifically to Southern consumers—including tacos, burritos and kolaches—were called out as core menu items.

Further, Couche-Tard spotlighted consumer preferences for better-for-you offerings in its plans to promote freshness of the menu and on-site preparations. “I think giving a core fresh offer into our stores is the right thing to do, particularly as we certainly see some segments of the consumer population looking for healthy alternatives,” Hannasch said.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is one of the world’s largest company-owned convenience-store operators, with more than 12,000 stores across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, Japan, China and Indonesia.