MESA, Ariz. —The staff of CSPedia, CSP Business Media’s online encyclopedia of convenience-store chains, gathers news and insights and updates the listings for the nearly 500 retailers in its database on a daily basis. CSPedia delivers a monthly summary of these reports, often news not yet announced publicly, to its subscribers.

Here is a collection of some of the news and people updates from June 2015.

People on the Move

• Alimentation Couche-Tard. Kim James has been appointed to the newly established role of global brand management director at Alimentation Couche-Tard, Couche-Tard Brands & Finance for the Laval, Quebec-based company, effective July 1. Previously, she was director of brand marketing, U.S. and Canada for Couche-Tard, Mac’s and Circle K; and director of category training and development, U.S., retail director of operations and director of marketing for Circle K.
• *CEFCO. Richard Levin has joined CEFCO as vice president of marketing. Mike Skidmore, senior vice president of marketing, has announced he will retire in September.
• Circle K Midwest. Brent Byers is handling non-alcohol packaged beverages for the region, Garry Carter is managing the grocery category and Tim Wallace is director of facilities and maintenance. Circle K Midwest is based in Columbus, Ind., and will have approximately 350 stores by the end of 2015, after about 500 of its current stores move to the new Circle K Heartland region when it is fully operational. Heartland will encompass stores in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
• Circle K West Coast. Personnel changes include Jorge Parra as Southern California director of operations after Dan Williams moved to the chain’s Houston office. Parra joined Circle K in January from Propel Fuel Co.
• First Coast Energy. Jack Kemp, former director of marketing, has retired. Trey Byrd handles buying and marketing for the Jacksonville, Florida, chain with 96 stores.
• KeithCo Petroleum. Brian Lee joined the company last year as director of operations. Ronnie Chadwell is no longer with the Mississippi chain, which operates about 30 Keith’s Superstores.
• Miller Oil Co. (Miller’s Neighborhood Market). Jack Trebilcock is no longer with Miller Oil Co. and Millers Neighborhood Market stores. He has relocated to Florida.
• Rite Way Oil Co. (Speedee Mart). John Dilsaver is chief operations officer, now handling all buying for the Omaha, Neb.-based company’s 14 stores.
• Tri-State Petroleum Inc. Leslie Owens has been named director of retail operations. The West Virginia company distributes fuel and owns and operates 30 stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

In the News

• Alon Brands Retail opened its newest 7-Eleven store May 6 in Rio Rancho, N.M., outside Albuquerque. It is a prototype for future stores, with 4,500 square feet of space within the store and 16 fueling stations. The company also began wholesale-fuel sales into the Phoenix market. Delek US Holding Inc. of Brentwood, Tenn., has acquired more than 48% of the stock from parent company Alon Israel Oil Co. Ltd., with an option to purchase more.
• Beacon & Bridge plans to build a new store in Lapeer, Mich., next door to an existing site that will be razed when construction is complete. Work has not yet begun on the new store. The chain has 23 sites in Michigan.
• Car Wash Enterprises Inc. of Seattle has been rebranding its convenience stores to Hungry Bear Market this year, with a new image and upgraded interiors that include open-air coolers and more fresh food offerings.
• Kum & Go’s parent company, Krause Holdings, has purchased a winery in Piedmont, Italy. The Iowa chain has more than 400 stores across 11 states.
• A new Pak-A-Sak store is due to open in August in Childress, Texas. The Amarillo company has about 20 stores, all in Texas.
• Sunshine Gasoline Distributors purchased 15 gas stations and convenience stores in Miami-Dade and Broward counties from Floval Oil Corp. Based in Doral, Fla., Sunshine also plans to add six more sites this year.
• Team Schierl Cos., based in Wisconsin, says its loyalty program, Impact Rewards, has reached a membership of 80,000. The chain plans to open one new store in 2015, for a total of 24 sites.
• United Oil of Gardena, Calif., has changed its corporate name to United Pacific following the acquisition of stores from Pacific Convenience & Fuels. The chain has expanded into Northern California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. After the acquisition, United operates more than 300 stores and leases another 60 to other operators.