From left: Gus Olympidis, founder, CEO, president of Family Express; Dean Durling, president and CEO of QuickChek; and John Lofstock, vice president and editor-in-chief of Convenience Store Decisions.
QuickChek receives the oldest and most prestigious award for convenience retailing.
By Erin Rigik Del Conte, Senior Editor
On Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016, QuickChek was honored as Convenience Store Decisions’ 2016 Convenience Store Chain of the Year at a dinner held at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta during the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show.
“As a resident of New Jersey, I get to see firsthand the outstanding work QuickChek does on a daily basis,” said John Lofstock, vice president and editor-in-chief of Convenience Store Decisions. “It’s what the company does behind the scenes that I admire most. It has one of the most dedicated workforces in the industry because it believes in taking care of its people and is always among the first local companies to support the community. This resonates with its convenience store customers every day. The Chain of the Year Award is a well-deserved honor.”
QuickChek, based in Whitehouse, N.J., operates 143 stores in New Jersey and New York.
It is tradition for the previous year’s winner to present the award. Founder, President and CEO of Family Express, Gus Olympidis, the 2015 Chain of the Year Award winner, presented the award to QuickChek’s President and CEO Dean Durling.
Olympidis pointed out that QuickChek is no stranger to being honored for its strong business.
“You’re truly a great company. That is what this is about. You have repeatedly highlighted for being an innovator. I would call QuickChek a serial innovator. You have been distinguished as an employer of choice time after time after time and you have graced the communities that you serve with philanthropy time after time after time,” said Olympidis of QuickChek.
But Olympidis noted that the Chain of the Year Award is a recognition like no other.
The chain of the year award, now in its 27th year, is the oldest and most prestigious award for convenience retailing.
“This recognition is bigger than any accolade that has come your way in a long time,” Olympidis said. “This award is not directed toward anyone in particular; it is directed to each and every one of the QuickChek organization that has contributed current or past in building this extraordinary organization. This award is unique because it can be shared with your customers, with the communities you serve proudly, your suppliers, your families and you can now probably proclaim…that QuickChek is one of the very best of the best that this industry has to offer.”
Durling accepted the award on behalf of QuickChek, ending his speech with a toast to the QuickChek team members, vendors and other retailers who helped make the chain’s success possible. “What you see here today, the success QuickChek has led is from us working with our team members… from vendor support and from our fellow retailers sharing best practices. That is what has made us today and what is going to give us the opportunities that we see far off in our future.”
Congrats to QuickChek!
