National Convenience Stores
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Convenience stores |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder | F. J. Dyke, Jr. |
| Headquarters | Houston , United States |
Key people | Ghulam Bombaywala (5% owner in 1992) |
| Products | Convenience stores |
Number of employees | 6300 (1991) |
National Convenience Stores Incorporated (traded on the NYSE as NCS) is a convenience store operator with its main office located in Houston, Texas. The convenience store operations were primarily overseen by its key subsidiary, Stop-N-Go Foods Inc..
History
In 1959, F. J. Dyke, Jr., formerly an executive at the convenience chain UtoteM, acquired five Stop N Go locations in San Antonio from Sommers Drug Stores and launched his own UtoteM franchise, renaming these outlets as UtoteM of San Antonio. By 1961, Dyke and his associates had gained control over all UtoteM stores in California. The company underwent a rebranding to National Drive-In Grocery Corporation in 1962 and relocated its headquarters to Houston three years later, in 1965. The business prospered until the economic challenges in Texas during the 1980s.
In approximately 1987, National Convenience Stores purchased 272 7-Eleven outlets in Houston from Southland Corporation, paying $250,000 per location. The following year, it expanded further by acquiring an additional 79 7-Eleven stores in San Antonio, where it already operated 125 stores, thereby becoming the dominant convenience store operator in that market.
By 1991, National Convenience Stores operated a total of 986 "Stop-N-Go" locations throughout Texas, California, and Georgia, employing about 6,300 individuals. It held the position as the largest convenience store chain in both Houston and San Antonio. Nonetheless, financial difficulties emerged with a $10.5 million loss reported for fiscal year 1991 and a subsequent $3 million loss in the first quarter of 1992, culminating in the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In 1992, Houston restaurateur Ghulam Bombaywala acquired a five percent ownership stake in National Convenience Stores.
By the year 1995, the chain had consolidated to operate 660 Stop N Go stores exclusively within Texas, with 396 of those situated in Houston—making it the largest chain in that city. The corporate headquarters employed roughly 250 staff members at that time. That same year, Diamond Shamrock purchased Stop N Go for $260 million with plans to establish the merged entity's base in San Antonio. This operation subsequently became part of Valero Energy Corporation’s retail arm known as CornerStore (later rebranded as CST Brands), which was eventually acquired by Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard in 2017. Consequently, Couche-Tard’s subsidiary Circle K now controls these retail assets—uniting two former UtoteM franchises from Houston and San Antonio under one corporate structure.
During the 1990s, National Convenience Stores encountered legal challenges related to undisclosed life insurance policies taken out on employees. In 2002, the company along with Lloyd's of London reached a settlement amounting to $1.14 million with families of workers who lost their lives while on duty.