After almost 50 years of expansion across the coastlines of Georgia and South Carolina, Parker’s Kitchen celebrated the opening of its 100th retail store in April 2025. Located in Summerville, S.C., this location is the fourth new store to open this year for the brand, which was named a 2024 Top Workplace by USA Today.
Built of reddish brick and featuring light brown wooden beam-supported verandas and quaint hanging lanterns at the front door, the brand-new 100th store is more reminiscent of a small-town storefront than a generic fueling station. At the further reaches of the building is a decorative grid-style relief pattern in the brick, welcoming customers from across Dorchester County, S.C. Parker’s Kitchen also hosts an extensive hot menu, which includes fish and grits, a variety of breakfast biscuit sandwiches, chicken sandwiches and pork chops.
Founded by Greg Parker in 1976 in Savannah, Ga., Parker’s Kitchen remains family-owned. In 2020, CStore Decisions named the brand Convenience Store Chain of the Year. At that time, Parker’s Kitchen had 66 locations. Olivia Parker, communications and outreach manager (and Greg’s daughter), explained that the growth across the Eastern seaboard has only just begun. Parker’s Kitchen plans to double its store count within the next five years, she noted. With the current rate of expansion, this goal is definitely achievable for the hard-working team behind the fast-growing brand.
“Reaching 100 stores is a significant milestone at Parker’s Kitchen that serves as a tribute to our talented team. Together, we’ve worked hard to plan, permit, build and operate 100 stores,” said Parker. “We are extremely excited about what the future holds for Parker’s Kitchen in new and existing markets.”
Customer Commitment
One key to Parker’s Kitchen’s success is its made-in-house Southern comfort-style food selections, so that customers can fuel up their vehicles and grab a hearty meal in just one stop. “We also have a strong focus on efficiency, convenience, and cleanliness, which means our customers can expect spotless surfaces, sparkling restrooms, and state-of-the-art technology designed to help them save time and money,” said Parker.
The exceptionality does not stop at the customer end. “We have a commitment to excellence in everything we do and offer a best-in-class shopping experience for our customers as well as world-class training and development programs for our team members,” she said. “Our team members are committed to excellent customer service and our facilities provide bright, clean, safe and inviting spaces for our customers and their families to shop.”
Community Care
Parker’s Kitchen also strives to care for the communities in which it operates. Numbers-wise, the brand’s “powerful commitment” to community outreach totals over $30 million in donations and financial support in the past decade alone. Parker noted that the brand wishes to create a “transformational impact in the communities we serve.”
The brand is a frequent giver to local charity organizations, including two of its own. By donating a percentage of all gas sold on certain days, the Fueling the Community Initiative has donated over $2.5 million to schools across Georgia and South Carolina. For Parker’s Rewards members, customers can select a specific school to donate their proceeds to. Started in 2020, The Parker’s Community Fund has, said Parker, “donated more than $30 million to support local nonprofits in four key areas: supporting education, fighting hunger, expanding access to healthcare, and celebrating heroes.”
Parker’s Kitchen also helps to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project through its round-up campaigns. Additionally, said Parker, “We made a $5 million donation to Roper Hospital/St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, S.C., to expand healthcare access to uninsured and underinsured residents and a $5 million donation to the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University to support the next generation of business leaders.”
Parker’s Kitchen’s commitment to giving back is felt not just in the fuel-tank lanes or on the tap screen of the card reader, but also on the GSU campus or Savannah Memorial Hospital’s Parker’s Emergency & Trauma Center wing.
Already, the brand has given financial support to a Summerville-based organization. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 100th store, $25,000 was gifted to the Dorchester Two Educational Foundation, a nonprofit that helps to improve local public school students.
Without its dedicated team, such evolution would not be possible. Parker said that the brand is “committed to being the best place to work in the region. We offer incredible benefits like free childcare and PTO from day one.”
As Greg Parker stepped into the executive chairman position in March 2025 after serving as CEO for 50 years, Brandon Hofmann was promoted to CEO, and serves as a shining example of in-company advancement. Hofmann began at the brand as a 19-year-old third-shift night clerk in Hinesville, Ga. After working his way up through a series of promotions (district manager, chief marketing officer, chief operating officer, president, CEO), his 26 years of spirit, work ethic and dedication prove that through innovation, creativity and focus on team culture, any opportunity is achievable.
Evolution and Expansion
While the brand began operating in South Carolina in 2008, Parker said that growth in other states remains on the table. “We’re planning to expand into new markets, including Jacksonville, Fla., Columbia, S.C., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.,” she said. “We’re looking at a number of different potential sites across the region and look forward to making announcements about new store locations in the future.”
Parker’s Kitchen is set on strategic growth, so that its community care and customer commitment never dwindles as the brand continues to thrive.
“We’re extremely thoughtful and intentional about our expansion and think that we are experiencing the fastest organic growth in the history of our industry,” Parker said. At present, Parker’s Kitchen is continuing to search for strategic sites in new and existing markets. “We’re incredibly honored to continue to grow and to invest in our team members as well as the communities where we operate stores,” Parker said. At 100 stores, with more in development, and 1,800 team members across two states, Parker’s Kitchen equips innovation and expansion in tandem, resulting in strategic success.
