Village Pantry Inc. said it has acquired nine convenience stores in central Ohio from Petro Acquisitions, Inc. The stores, formerly operated by AmeriStop Market, will be rebranded under the Village Pantry banner. Each store averages 2,700 square feet and like most traditional convenience stores offers quick snack items, lottery tickets, money orders, pre-paid cellular and gift cards and sells branded fuel. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

In October, Village Pantry bought 33 convenience stores in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio from Imperial Co. Inc. of Mount Pleasant, Mich. The company now operates 188 stores in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

Village Pantry was part of locally based Marsh Supermarkets until owner Sun Capital Partners of Boca Raton, Fla., separated it into its own business last May. Sun bought Marsh in the fall of 2006 for $88 million, plus the assumption of $237 million in debt.

"We are delighted to add this important Ohio market to our growing Midwest footprint," said Mick Parker, president and CEO of Village Pantry. "We expect to take advantage of the economies of scale offered by this transaction and be better positioned to enhance the value proposition for our loyal customers as we continue to introduce new merchandising concepts."