Q: The NBA allows ads on player jerseys. Which NBA team jersey features a NACS retail member ad? A: Oklahoma City Thunder: Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores. Love’s is the only U.S.-based retailer of any kind on team jerseys. Most sponsors are in financial services or software companies.
Q: When did the national average gas price first top $1 a gallon? A: 1979—During the Iranian Revolution. At the time, many dispensers couldn’t go above 99.9 cents per gallon, so some retailers looked to sell gas by the half gallon to address the problem.
Q: Which actor from the TV show M*A*S*H was the co-founder of a convenience store chain that was once the second largest privately owned chain in the United States? A: Wayne Rogers (Trapper John). Swifty Serve had more than 550 convenience stores at its peak, under a variety of store names.
Q: Which New York Mets star opened a small chain of carwashes in Southern California and was featured in a NACS Ideas 2 Go video segment? A: Lenny Dykstra. Lenny Dykstra’s Carwash in Corona, California, was featured in the 2004 NACS Ideas 2 Go series.
Q: California has the highest combined federal and state gas tax in the country at 81.45 cents per gallon. Which state has the second highest tax? A: Pennsylvania
Q: Wawa began as an iron foundry in 1803 and was involved with textiles and dairy before opening its first convenience store in 1964. Which U.S. president was once on Wawa’s payroll? A: Abraham Lincoln. He helped collect delinquent accounts. Fresh off earning a law degree, Lincoln helped collect debts for the company, which has two cancelled checks from him to prove it.
Q: Early gas stations sold “TBA” in addition to traditional fuel. What did TBA stand for? A: Tires, batteries and accessories. The original stores focused on the TBA line of products for the car.
Q. Alimentation Couche-Tard operates more than 7,000 convenience stores in North America, including the Circle K brand. What does “Couche Tard” mean? A: Night owl. In French, couche tard is someone who goes to bed late—or “night owl.”
Q: All letters in the 7-Eleven logo are capitalized except this one: A: N. Rumor has it that then-CEO Joe Thompson’s wife felt that the capital “N” looked harsh, and the lowercase “n” made the logo look more graceful.
Q: Which animals are most associated with early convenience store commercials? A: The rooster and owl—symbolizing the early/late hours of operation. These birds were used in early 7-Eleven commercials.