Allsup’s to keep name, staff, prices after sale to Yesway
Integration process to new ownership will likely take up to 18 months
Despite the recent sale of the Allsup’s convenience store chain to Yesway, the Allsup’s name will remain at all 304 locations in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.
Yesway Chief Executive Officer Thomas Trkla said the iconic brand and its legendary burritos and chimichangas will retain their presence in local communities following the merger.
He said no change in price for the “world famous” beef and bean burritos was expected.
And none of the about 5,000 Allsup’s employees are expected to be laid off during the integration as of Friday, Trkla said, but some might be relocated to new stores the company plans to purchase in the future.
The Allsup’s signs will likely remain hanging in Texas and New Mexico, Trkla said, and the company could even add some as it acquires more locations.
“All the stores will continue to sell Allsup’s products and keep the name,” he said. “We’ll certainly leverage the Allsup’s name in Texas and New Mexico.”
While some of the locations might be renovated following the sale, Trkla said the company does not plan to close any of the stores owned by Allsup’s.
“We might raze and rebuild, but there are zero plans to close any store,” he said. “They’re not going anywhere. Moving forward, all of the employees will remain with the company.”
As part of the integration plan, Trkla said company leaders will seek out “duplicative” positions that overlap, but those employees would likely be reassigned to a different store rather than being laid off.
That process will likely take up to a year and a half, he said, and more details would be forthcoming.
“We don’t expect to have many duplications,” Trkla said. “We’re going to go slowly and respectfully. It would be wrong to say there won’t be any duplications, but we will treat everyone good.”
Trkla said Yesway is hoping to continue its steady growth, after adding 147 stores in the past three years.
And the Permian Basin was an ideal place to continue the expansion, due to a recent boom in oil and gas operations bringing more workers to the region.
They are workers who spend hours on the road, going from job site to job site — an ideal and growing customer base for the Allsup’s offerings of gasoline and portable fast food items, such as burritos.
“We like the Permian Basin,” he said. We recognize the benefit of having stores in the Permian. This is where the oil is. We want to serve all the new workers coming in.”