New convenience store to put heavy focus on food, aims to grow in North Dakota.

By Erin Rigik, Senior Editor.

The Hub Convenience Stores, is set to open its first location—a travel center—this October in Dickinson, N.D.

The Hub’s model combines a flexible format—including a travel center, truck stop and c-store prototype that can be called upon per each site’s needs—extensive foodservice, including a proprietary grab-and-go food program; plus founders with expertise on both the c-store and fuel end of the business, all in the virtually untapped area of Southwest North Dakota.

The Hub is the brainchild of c-store veteran Jared Scheeler, former director of operations for Bobby & Steve’s Auto World, and also a current member of the NACS board of directors, and Chris Fitterer, a partner in Fitterer Oil Co. and West Dakota Oil Co.

The Hub aspires to become the premier convenience destination in North Dakota, and its founders have the background to make that goal a reality. “I think we can soon become a regional player in the c-store industry. We have a great deal of focus on our food programs, and in this region—as opposed to on the East Coast—there isn’t a good perception of food in convenience stores. We are going to start by creating our own niche in our market area. It’s going to take some time to change customer perception, but we believe we can do it fairly quickly and that our customers are going to love it and be asking for more,” said Scheeler, who is the managing director of The Hub.

The first location will span 7,800 square feet, and customers will find some 2,300 square feet devoted to food, including a Schlotzsky’s deli and Cinnabon Express. The Hub will also offer a grab-and-go program called “The Bite” with sandwiches, salads, sliced fruits and vegetables and more.

The Hub partnered with Paragon Solutions, which created the internal and external branding and design.

For more on The Hub, check out CSD’s upcoming issue.