Ampm
| Company type | Convenience store chain |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (convenience stores) |
| Founded | 1978 in Southern California, United States |
| Founder | Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) |
| Headquarters | La Palma, California , United States |
Area served | United States (Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, New York), Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina |
| Products | Convenience store goods including fresh food, coffee, baked goods, sandwiches, hot meals |
| Owner | BP America, Inc. |
ampm (occasionally styled as "am/pm") is a convenience store network operating across various U.S. states including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, as well as internationally in countries such as Costa Rica and Brazil. After exiting the Eastern U.S. market in 2012, the brand made a comeback ten years later.
The ampm trademark is held by BP America, Inc., a division of BP, which acquired the original owner, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), in 2000. Within the United States, ampm outlets are commonly found alongside ARCO or BP gas stations. The inaugural store was launched in Southern California in 1978.
1978–2007
Founded by ARCO in 1978 in Southern California, ampm expanded into the Northeastern United States through ARCO sites until 1985, when those operations were spun off into Atlantic Petroleum. The convenience stores in this region were subsequently rebranded as A-Plus. Sunoco, which acquired Atlantic Petroleum in 1988, continues to own A-Plus, with company-operated locations later sold to 7-Eleven in 2018.
In Japan, ampm was introduced by Kyodo Oil Company (later known as Japan Energy) in 1989, predominantly situated at Kyodo Oil (later JOMO) service stations. Ownership shifted to Reins International Inc., a firm managing Korean-style restaurants in Japan, in 2004.
2008–2011: BP Connect branding
During spring 2008, BP Connect convenience stores across the U.S. were rebranded as ampm, consolidating the brand identity under BP instead of ARCO. Markets with significant BP presence—including Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Orlando, and Pittsburgh—underwent this transition with aligned advertising efforts. By August 2008, BP divested most of its Orlando retail outlets to Medallion Convenience Stores. Indianapolis locations sold to Ricker Oil were later integrated into GetGo. Pittsburgh stores were acquired by 7-Eleven to complement their Exxon and Gulf station networks. Columbus, Ohio outlets were sold to Duchess Shoppe in 2010. In November 2009, FamilyMart took over ampm Japan and rebranded all its stores under the FamilyMart name.
2012–2023
By 2012, ampm operated 38 sites in Costa Rica alongside Fresh Market stores under shared ownership. That year marked BP’s decision to divest or plan divestiture of all ampm operations east of the Rocky Mountains—including locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Orlando—reducing its eastern footprint from approximately 200 stores while retaining around 900 outlets across the western U.S. at BP and ARCO stations. Following BP’s sale of ARCO to Tesoro Corporation and licensing of the ARCO brand for the Pacific Northwest and Northern California regions, BP maintained ownership of ampm. As of 2021, BP franchised ampm operations to independent ARCO proprietors in the Southwest; company-owned ampm stores were converted into Speedway locations after Marathon Petroleum’s acquisition of ARCO in 2018.
By 2014, ampm had placed emphasis on fresh food options such as coffee, baked goods, sandwiches, hot meals, and a wide condiment bar under its "ampm Good Stuff" value brand. The chain operated approximately 950 outlets headquartered in La Palma, California serving Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Nearing its milestone of 1,000 locations by late 2017, BP launched its first newly built ampm store in over ten years by early 2019. In Brazil, Ipiranga managed roughly 2,500 ampm convenience stores located at fuel stations.
BP broadened its convenience retail holdings by acquiring a stake in Thorntons LLC in 2019 and completed full ownership acquisition from ArcLight Capital Partners in 2021. This development positioned ampm and Thorntons as affiliated brands with distinct geographic territories—Thorntons focusing primarily on the Midwest and Florida markets.
In August 2022, BP reintroduced ampm to the U.S. East Coast convenience arena by opening a store in The Bronx, New York City—the first East Coast location since its exit in 2012—with a second New York City location debuting in Queens during 2023.
Dispersion
After ARCO was divided between BP and Tesoro, the franchising rights on the West Coast were allocated accordingly: BP oversees Washington, Oregon, and Northern California, whereas Tesoro’s affiliate, Treasure Franchise Company LLC, is responsible for Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Southern California.
ampm franchises and BP-operated outlets are present in certain regions of Mexico, often co-located with Pemex service stations, as well as in Brazil alongside Ipiranga stations. In Argentina, these locations are typically found at YPF/ACA facilities. Previously, operations in Chile were conducted in partnership with Petrobras stations.