UPDATE: A Garb-Ko spokesperson told ColumbusBusiness Firstthat leaving the Columbus market and "the three good stores" was not the company's idea. "We weren't able to renegotiate the lease" with Benderson Development Co., Larry Hauck, Garb-Ko's director of marketing, told the newspaper. "Unfortunately, these things happen."
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- 7-Eleven no longer has a presence in Columbus, Ohio, after licensee Garb-Ko Inc. closed its three stores in the Central Ohio market, according to a Columbus Business First report.
Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. said it could not comment on the closings because the three sites were operated by Saginaw, Mich.-based licensee Garb-Ko Inc., which did respond to inquiries by press time.
7-Eleven didn’t have much of a footprint in Columbus beyond the three stores concentrated around Ohio State University, according to the report.
All three sites have been gutted and signs removed.
Garb-Ko Inc. owns 83 convenience stores branded 7-Eleven, the majority of which are located in Michigan, with a few in Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis, according to CSPedia.com. The company operates 26 of the stores, while franchisees operate 57.
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