An Exxon station at Broad and Boulevard was included in large portfolio of gas stations and convenience stores recently sold. Photo by Katie Demeria.
With some extra cash in his pocket, Steve Uphoff is getting back to his roots.
The local convenience store magnate struck a deal in recent weeks to sell off some of the remnants of his former Uppy’s gas station chain for nearly $40 million. And he’s already putting that money to work, with a deal announced this week to acquire Dion Oil Co. out of Key West, Florida.
The first deal involved the sale of around two dozen gas station and convenience store properties around the Richmond market that had been leased to Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores. At least 21 of those properties were sold Dec. 28, in deals totaling about $37 million, according to city and county records.
MACS, formed by Connecticut-based private equity group Catterton Partners, took a majority interest in Uppy’s in 2010. Bringing on Uppy’s 44 convenience stores boosted MACS’ total holdings to about 200 properties. Through that deal, Uphoff retained ownership of some sites, leasing them to MACS, and then Sunoco, which purchased MACS in 2013.
“There was a purchase option, and they executed that and purchased some of the sites from us in December,” Uphoff said.
Of the 21 properties that changed hands, six were in the city, five were in Henrico, and 10 were in Chesterfield County. The highest-priced property of the batch is located on Times Square Drive in Chesterfield County and sold for $3.3 million, while the lowest sold for $206,563. Among the more notable locations that transferred were the Exxon stations at 1701 E. Broad St. in Shockoe Bottom and at West Broad Street and Boulevard.
Steve Upoff
All the Uppy’s locations were rebranded to Circle K, after MACS became the exclusive Circle K developer in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C.
Uphoff served as MACS’ CEO until 2011 and then was on the company’s board of directors for a time before it was sold to Sunoco for an undisclosed price.
Since then, he’s turned to the entertainment sector with Uptown Alley bowling alleys and plans to construct a water park in Chesterfield County. But he couldn’t stay away from the convenience store world where he started.
“It’s kind of in our blood,” he said.
This week, Uphoff Ventures, which is run by Uphoff and his wife, Linda Uphoff, closed on the acquisition of Dion Oil Co. and its 11 Dion Quik Mart convenience stores in Key West.
Uphoff said he has been working on this deal for 11 years. He attended the University of Florida and has family in the area, which attracted him to the location in the first place.
“The Dion family has been there for 68 years continuously operating these stores, so we’re only the second owner on record as of yesterday,” Uphoff said. “It’s pretty cool to own a little piece of paradise and have the opportunity to do what we do best, which is develop high-quality convenience store assets that exceed customers’ expectations.
“We’re excited about being able to get back in the business.”
Uphoff declined to share the acquisition price. Capital One was the lender.
The deal includes Uphoff Ventures assuming fuel supply contracts with ExxonMobil, Citgo, Marathon and Chevron.
The plan, Uphoff said, is to continue growing Dion Quik Marts, a name he will maintain as it has a strong following in the area. It’s known, he said, for its chicken.
“We’re not buying this just to run a small chain,” he said. “We look at it as a foothold into something more opportunistic for us. We hope that other dealers come to us and ask, ‘Can we work with you, can we sell you our sites, open more locations?’
Uptown Alley has six facilities that are either open or under contract. With one open in Midlothian, more are on the way in Virginia Beach and Manassas, White Plains, New York, plus another in Changzhou, China, which Uphoff said will be the largest bowling facility in China.
Uphoff is also planning a $160 million indoor water park, a 400-room hotel and a convention center in Chesterfield County. So far he has secured 26 acres for that project and is working to grow that footprint even further.
“We’re still planning on developing that space, we’ve just been distracted by everything else,” he said.
An Exxon station at Broad and Boulevard was included in large portfolio of gas stations and convenience stores recently sold. Photo by Katie Demeria.
With some extra cash in his pocket, Steve Uphoff is getting back to his roots.
The local convenience store magnate struck a deal in recent weeks to sell off some of the remnants of his former Uppy’s gas station chain for nearly $40 million. And he’s already putting that money to work, with a deal announced this week to acquire Dion Oil Co. out of Key West, Florida.
The first deal involved the sale of around two dozen gas station and convenience store properties around the Richmond market that had been leased to Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores. At least 21 of those properties were sold Dec. 28, in deals totaling about $37 million, according to city and county records.
MACS, formed by Connecticut-based private equity group Catterton Partners, took a majority interest in Uppy’s in 2010. Bringing on Uppy’s 44 convenience stores boosted MACS’ total holdings to about 200 properties. Through that deal, Uphoff retained ownership of some sites, leasing them to MACS, and then Sunoco, which purchased MACS in 2013.
“There was a purchase option, and they executed that and purchased some of the sites from us in December,” Uphoff said.
Of the 21 properties that changed hands, six were in the city, five were in Henrico, and 10 were in Chesterfield County. The highest-priced property of the batch is located on Times Square Drive in Chesterfield County and sold for $3.3 million, while the lowest sold for $206,563. Among the more notable locations that transferred were the Exxon stations at 1701 E. Broad St. in Shockoe Bottom and at West Broad Street and Boulevard.
Steve Upoff
All the Uppy’s locations were rebranded to Circle K, after MACS became the exclusive Circle K developer in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C.
Uphoff served as MACS’ CEO until 2011 and then was on the company’s board of directors for a time before it was sold to Sunoco for an undisclosed price.
Since then, he’s turned to the entertainment sector with Uptown Alley bowling alleys and plans to construct a water park in Chesterfield County. But he couldn’t stay away from the convenience store world where he started.
“It’s kind of in our blood,” he said.
This week, Uphoff Ventures, which is run by Uphoff and his wife, Linda Uphoff, closed on the acquisition of Dion Oil Co. and its 11 Dion Quik Mart convenience stores in Key West.
Uphoff said he has been working on this deal for 11 years. He attended the University of Florida and has family in the area, which attracted him to the location in the first place.
“The Dion family has been there for 68 years continuously operating these stores, so we’re only the second owner on record as of yesterday,” Uphoff said. “It’s pretty cool to own a little piece of paradise and have the opportunity to do what we do best, which is develop high-quality convenience store assets that exceed customers’ expectations.
“We’re excited about being able to get back in the business.”
Uphoff declined to share the acquisition price. Capital One was the lender.
The deal includes Uphoff Ventures assuming fuel supply contracts with ExxonMobil, Citgo, Marathon and Chevron.
The plan, Uphoff said, is to continue growing Dion Quik Marts, a name he will maintain as it has a strong following in the area. It’s known, he said, for its chicken.
“We’re not buying this just to run a small chain,” he said. “We look at it as a foothold into something more opportunistic for us. We hope that other dealers come to us and ask, ‘Can we work with you, can we sell you our sites, open more locations?’
Uptown Alley has six facilities that are either open or under contract. With one open in Midlothian, more are on the way in Virginia Beach and Manassas, White Plains, New York, plus another in Changzhou, China, which Uphoff said will be the largest bowling facility in China.
Uphoff is also planning a $160 million indoor water park, a 400-room hotel and a convention center in Chesterfield County. So far he has secured 26 acres for that project and is working to grow that footprint even further.
“We’re still planning on developing that space, we’ve just been distracted by everything else,” he said.