Large Chains

Williamsville, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets has entered an agreement with C&S Wholesale Grocers affiliate GU Markets to acquire 21 supermarkets located in upstate New York and Vermont.

Tops said the acquisition will bring its number of operating stores to 153 and will expand Tops' footprint further into areas of northern and eastern New York State and neighboring northern Vermont. For the time being, 20 of the stores will continue to operate under the Grand Union banner, while the other store will continue to operate under the Bryant's banner.

Orlando, Fla. -- Convenience-store operator WaWa has entered the Florida market, opening a store across from Sea World in Orlando. Four additional units are scheduled to open in the Orlando market during the next four five weeks.

Henderson, Nev. -- Efficiency upgrades at 621 7-Eleven stores in California, Washington, and Oregon, will result in an anticipated energy savings of approximately $1.2 million annually.

The upgrades were completed by Castrovilla, a subsidiary of Blue Earth, an energy efficiency and renewable energy services company. The project involved the installation of energy efficient electronically commutated motors, anti-sweat heater controls, evaporator fan controls, gaskets, door closers and strip curtains.

Michael Williams has joined Jackson Hewitt, the nation’s second largest tax preparation firm, as SVP and chief marketing officer.

Williams joins the tax service provider following a tax season in which the firm saw its relationship with Walmart expand to 2,800 in-store locations from 2,000 locations the prior year.

Carpinteria, Calif. -- CKE Restaurants is planning to expand its Hardee's footprint in the Minneapolis area over the next several years and sees the potential to develop more than 59 new restaurants in the market.

“We are excited to expand in the Minneapolis area, and we're now looking for experienced multi-unit operators to join the brand,” said Jim Sullivan, CKE's senior VP domestic franchise development.

Cary, N.C. -- The Pantry said Thursday that it is pursuing debt refinancing consisting of up to $480 million of senior secured credit facilities and $250 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. has entered into an agreement to acquire Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings Inc., the owner and operator of the USA Drug chain, for about $438 million, gaining stores in several Southern states. The acquisition comes on the heels of Walgreens’ announcement that it was buying a 45% stake in Alliance Boots GmbH for $6.7 billion last month to expand globally.

Carlisle, Pa. -- Ahold subsidiary Giant Food said it has commenced its conversion of 15 former Genuardi's stores. The announcement follows FTC approval of Giant Food’s plan to acquire 15 Genuardi's stores, located in the greater Philadelphia area, from Safeway.

During the conversion process, five stores at a time will temporarily close for about a week. The three-phase staggered approach is expected to be completed on July 22.

The nation’s convenience stores continued to grow last year creating a peculiar blend of competitive challenges and sales opportunities for Sam’s Club.

Dallas -- 7-Eleven announced that it has completed a transaction to acquire 18 Open Pantry convenience store locations in Wisconsin, primarily in the greater Milwaukee and Madison markets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.