CHS will operate the Zip Trip locations under its Cenex energy brand. The purchase will reportedly make Spokane the largest single metropolitan market for Cenex convenience stores in the US.
CHS noted that there are six Cenex retail locations in Spokane operated by an independent dealer. Of the 33 convenience stores, the majority are located in metropolitan Spokane, with additional facilities in Clarkston, Washington. Some of the units are located in Lewiston, Couer’d Alene, Grangeville, Moscow and Bonners Ferry, all in Idaho.
The re-branding of the locations to the Cenex brand is expected to be completed by mid-summer 2008.
Don Olson, CHS’s senior vice president of refined fuels, said: We have a long history of serving Pacific Northwest consumers with Cenex-branded retail facilities and products and look forward to expanding in the Spokane market. The proximity to our Laurel, Montana, refinery allows us to efficiently provide reliable supplies of quality gasoline and diesel fuel to these retail locations.
