Par Mar Oil Co.

Joseph Grow of Parkersburg, W.V. and James L. Hollister of Marietta, Ohio, founded Par Mar Oil Co. in 1967, with "Par" standing for Parkersburg and "Mar" for Marietta. The company opened its first convenience store in 1979. Today, it operates Par Mar Stores in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Maryland.

In terms of growth, Par Mar acquired 14 Red Rover convenience stores from Wooster, Ohio-based Santmyer in 2023.

A year earlier, Par Mar added 34 stores, pushing it into the Top 40 of CSP's list for the first time. Also that year, Par Mar purchased its first four stores in Maryland.

In addition to c-stores, Par Mar operates car washes and quick-service restaurants, including QSRs under the A&W, Fazoli's, Quiznos and Subway brands, as well as Par Mar's proprietary foodservice. Fuel brands include BP, Exxon, Marathon and Shell.

Croton Holding Co., Pittsburgh, purchased Par Mar Oil in 2016. Croton Holding's largest asset is Superior Petroleum Co.

For benchmarking purposes, store counts are as of Jan. 1, 2024.