GPM Investments, a subsidiary of Arko, has named Richard Guidry to the newly created position of senior vice president of food service.
Guidry joins GPM Investments from Casey’s General Stores, where he spent roughly the past year as the convenience retailer’s brand director of food service. In that role, “he led menu innovation and simplification initiatives,” the press release noted. During his tenure, Casey’s expanded an AI-assisted platform for taking phone orders and debuted a thin-crust addition to its signature pizza line.
“Richard’s leadership as well as his food and operations experience will significantly benefit the GPM team as we develop and grow our food business,” said Michael Bloom, executive vice president and chief merchandising and marketing Officer at GPM.
Before that, Guidry also served as director of operations and then category director for prepared food, menu development, national calendar and category for Casey’s as part of a nearly three-and-a-half-year stint with the retailer, according to his LinkedIn bio.
He also spent about 15 years in a variety of management and director positions with convenience retailer RaceTrac. That includes more than 10 years as director of operations for the company’s stores in a series of regions: overseeing 30 stories in Louisiana, then 45 in south Florida and then almost 100 stores in south/west Florida.
“His strong record of operational execution and food innovation and strategy within this highly competitive category will be essential to our growth strategy,” Bloom said.
Foodservice is one of GPM’s three core pillars, along with loyalty and core store categories: candy; beer; sweet, salty and alternative snacks; and packaged beverages.
In its second-quarter earnings call, the company highlighted gains it has already made in that area, including a 10.4% increase in sales at its franchised restaurants and a 13.4% gain in same-store grab-and-go sales. Creating a new position atop this category indicated the c-store retailer intends to lean even harder on this growth area.
“This is an exciting time for the company, with many opportunities for strategic innovation in the food and beverage categories,” said Guidry.
Richmond, Virginia-based Arko operates more than 1,500 c-stores in 33 states under a variety of brands through GPM Investments, including Scotchman, E-Z Mart, Breadbox, ExpressShop and Pride.
