W.C. Jones established Walton Grocery Company in 1953. His goal was to sell quality products and provide excellent convenient service. His first supermarket was located in De Funiak Springs, Florida. From the traditional supermarket, he began to experiment with the convenience store concept. He opened his first convenience store in Crestview, Florida. Rapid growth followed as the company moved into the beach areas along the Florida Gulf coast and in to the small rural towns. The addition of gasoline to the convenience store scene developed rapidly and gasoline became an integral part of the store. Over time, the company added fried chicken delis to multiple locations.
In 1979, W.C. merged his company with two other family owned companies to what we now know as Tom Thumb Food Stores. Rodney Jones, son of W.C. Jones, was named President of the combined companies.
The successful family business of 84 stores caught the eye of Dillon Companies, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Kroger Company. Dillon Companies acquired the Tom Thumb Food Stores in 1984.
Today Tom Thumb Food Stores operates over 113 stores in the panhandle of Florida and southern Alabama. Our customer’s enjoy a wide range of product offerings from brand names to our very own proprietary products. Many of our stores offer additional services for our customers’ convenience, including ATMs, lottery tickets, and gasoline.
We will strive to always provide quality, excellence and convenience to our customers and the communities we serve.
EG America is one of the fastest growing convenience store retailers in the United States. In 2019 EG America established its new national headquarters in Westborough, MA. The company has now grown to 1,600+ stores with locations across the United States. Cumberland Farms, Turkey Hill, Kwik Shop, Loaf ‘N Jug, Tom Thumb, Quik Stop, Sprint Minit Mart, Fastrac, and Certified Oil are the convenience stores of EG America and we continue to grow our family of stores in the coming years.
About EG Group
Founded in 2001 by the Issa Family, United Kingdom-based EG Group is a leading petrol forecourt retail convenience operator which has established partnerships with global brands. The business has an established pedigree of delivering an excellent fuel, grocery and merchandise, and food service.
EG Group currently employs about 50,000 colleagues working in more than 6,200 sites across the UK&I, Europe, USA and Australia.
The business is regularly recognized for innovation and investment in convenience retail assets, the employees and the systems. Zuber Issa and Mohsin Issa, Founders and co- CEOs, EG Group, were jointly named the 2018 EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the UK.
Further information at www.eg.group.
Further information is available at www.eurogarages.com.