Independents

Atlanta - Arby's Restaurant Group Inc. (ARG), franchisor of Arby’s, has signed development agreements with new and existing franchisees. ARG recently sold 14 company-operated restaurants in Tampa, Fla., to Mosaic Investments Inc., a fully integrated investment firm based in Atlanta. In addition to remodeling existing locations slated to commence at the end of 2014, Mosaic has committed to build 13 new Arby's restaurants in the Tampa area during the next nine years.

Corpus Christi, Texas -- Susser Holdings opened two new Stripes convenience stores during the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and acquired 47 convenience stores at the end of January 2014 that are currently operating under the Sac-N-Pac brand. The company has acquired one additional convenience store to date in the second quarter, and currently has 17 under construction.

Montvale, N.J. -- The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) announced that company COO Paul Hertz has been appointed president and CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds Sam Martin. In January, A&P confirmed Martin’s departure.

San Antonio -- Stephen Smith, former co-CEO of the Toronto-based restaurant chain owner and operator Cara Operations Limited, has been elected to the CST Brands' board of directors. Smith's most recent experience was with Cara as co-CEO and, prior to that, CFO of Cara. Previously, Smith served for many years as an executive of Canadian grocer, Loblaw Companies Limited.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Café has signed a new multi-unit development agreement to open its first restaurants in Indianapolis beginning later this year and the remaining sites over the next six years.

Framingham, Mass. – Cumberland Farms is reportedly selling 27 stores in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, to Petroleum Marketing Group, based in Woodbridge, Va. According to the Boston Globe, the stores will continue to operate as convenience stores and all roughly 600 affected employees are expected to keep their jobs.

Cumberland Farms will focus on its nearly 600 remaining stores in New England, New York, and Florida. Both companies are private and terms were not disclosed.

Houston - Concerned Pantry Shareholders (CPS), a group led by JCP Investment Management LLC and Lone Star Value Management LLC, together a significant shareholder of The Pantry Inc. has sent an open letter to the shareholders of The Pantry. The letter highlights what CPS terms the prolonged underperformance at The Pantry and the critical need for significant change in the company's board of directors.

Ankeny, Iowa -- Casey’s General Stores announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 24 Stop-n-Go locations. Twenty of the stores are located in North Dakota and four are located in Minnesota.

Houston -- Susser Holdings Corporation and Susser Petroleum Partners LP have closed their previously announced acquisition of the convenience store assets and fuel distribution contracts of Sac-n-Pac Stores, Inc. and 3W Warren Fuels, Ltd.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The U.S. convenience store count increased to 151,282 stores as of December 31, 2013, a 1.4% increase (2,062 stores) from the year prior, according to the 2014 NACS/Nielsen Convenience Industry Store Count. Convenience stores account for 34.3% of all retail outlets in the United States, according to Nielsen, which is significantly higher than the U.S. total of other retail channels including drug stores (41,378 stores), supermarket/supercenter (37,459 stores) and dollar stores (24,853 stores).