Atlanta-based convenience-store chain RaceTrac is eyeing a new state: North Carolina. The Rocky Mount City Council on Jan. 8 approved a rezoning request from RaceTrac for a 7-acre plot of land where they want to build a c-store.
The plot is located on Wesleyan Boulevard (Route 301), southeast of the junction with Thomas Betts Parkway, in Rocky Mount and near North Carolina Wesleyan College, according to city documents.
Some citizens and council members at the Jan. 8 meeting, which was recorded and posted online, raised concerns over traffic and safety at the site if it were to be rezoned and used for a RaceTrac.
- RaceTrac is No. 15 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience store chains by store count.
Representatives from RaceTrac at the meeting said the $8 to $11 million project would be a community investment, bringing 10-15 jobs and safety improvements to the intersection, while also providing fuel and other c-store items like food, health care products and more.
While the rezoning of the land was approved, RaceTrac is still in the early stages of the development process and would need more approvals from the city and the North Carolina Department of Transportation before anything is finalized. A traffic study is currently underway, a RaceTrac representative said at the meeting.
RaceTrac did not immediately respond to CSP’s request for more information.
The majority of RaceTrac’s stores are located in Florida, Georgia and Texas, but the chain has been moving further north, recently opening a store in Indiana and two stores in South Carolina. RaceTrac has more than 580 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, according to its website.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.