In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Rachel Gignac talks to Fidaa Mohrez, senior director of operational systems at H&S Energy, Orange, California, and Mehdi Mahmoodi, co-founder of LottoShield, San Ramon, California.

They talked about H&S Energy's experience with LottoShield during CSP’s Convenience Retailing University (CRU) event in February in Nashville. 

In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Senior Editor Hannah Hammond talks to Mark Buonomo, senior category manager for beer, wine and liquor at Global Partners.

Buonomo was a finalist for CSP’s 2025 Category Manager of the Year awards. 

• Click here to see the 2025 CMOY winners.

The two talked about trends in packaged beverages and alcohol during CSP’s Convenience Retailing University (CRU) event in February in Nashville, Tennessee. Global Partners LP, Waltham, Massachusetts, operates 364 convenience stores under brands including Alltown Fresh, Convenience Plus, Fast Freddie’s and Honey Farms. 

In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” Fidaa Mohrez, senior director of operational systems at H&S Energy Group; Kumeil Hosain, founder and CEO of Xenia; and Abbey Lewis, vice president of content strategy, discuss what the partnership means for H&S Energy.

With beer caves, car washes and various formats across different regions, H&S needed a platform with store hierarchy capabilities and customizability across its portfolio of locations.

In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Diane Adam talks with Damian Wyatt, vice president of retail, purchasing and merchandising for Greenfield, Indiana-based Leo’s Market & Eatery. The podcast was recorded inside the retailer’s new c-store location in Lafayette, Indiana. Other Leo’s are located in Greenfield, Noblesville, McCordsville and Indianapolis, Indiana. Wyatt talks about the new store’s features, including chef-prepared meals, a drive thru and Leo’s signature kolaches. An industry veteran, Wyatt previously worked with convenience-store retailer MAPCO for nearly 20 years.

In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Chuck Ulie talks with Mary Ruiz, center store category manager at Global Partners, Waltham, Massachusetts, which owns the Alltown Fresh convenience-store chain.

Ruiz talks about excitement in the category with the influx of new items—and, in this role for just seven months, discusses what has surprised her so far.

Ruiz also touches on trends she’s watching. 

“I see in a lot of global cuisines, people going after new flavors, frozen foods,” she said of the grocery category, adding that she wants to bring more innovation to the category.

There’s also more awareness around healthier and less-processed foods, she said.

In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP editors Hannah Hammond, Heather Lalley, Rachel Gignac, Diane Adam and Chuck Ulie share highlights from CSP’s Convenience Retailing University (CRU) conference.

The event took place Feb. 24-26 in Nashville, Tennessee, and was filled with educational content in all convenience-store categories, from tobacco to center store to packaged beverages and more. 

Also, Hammond interviews five of the 2025 Category Manager of the Year winners: 

• Foodservice, large chain, winner Kevin Dixon of Circle K and small-chain winner Jamie Kennedy of Weigel's
• Alcohol, large chain, winner Jackie Pfeiffer of Circle K and small-chain winner Nick Triantafellou of Weigel's
• Loyalty + Tech/Operations, small chain, winner Jessica Starnes of Weigel's

They talked about what they love about their categories, what challenges they face and more. 

• Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Weigel’s Stores Inc. is No. 79.

In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Chuck Ulie talks with Ali Beydoun, foodservice director at Chillbox, owned by New Haven, Michigan-based Bazco Oil.

Beydoun talks about the launch of the first quick-service restaurant, BirdBox, launched in November by Chillbox in one of its Warren, Michigan, locations.

“It was definitely one of those, ‘Let’s make it happen,’ Beydoun said on the podcast. “We were all hands on deck and were able to do it in about a month and a half. It’s been launched for a couple of months now, and we’re very happy with the trajectory so far.”

BirdBox sells bone-in fried chicken pieces along with four chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, four sides, a house salad, two appetizers (fried corn ribs and tater tachos) and a burger. There also are strawberry, vanilla and chocolate milkshakes and six sauces.

“At Your Convenience” brings industry experts and analysts together with CSP editors to discuss the latest in c-store news and trends. From mergers and acquisitions to foodservice and technology, the podcast delivers the story straight to listeners in short-format episodes, perfect for the morning commute or a quick break at the office.

In this episode of “At Your Convenience”, guest host Art Sebastian sits down with Renee Caceres, head of retail media at StackAdapt, for a discussion on the evolution of retail media networks.

Sebastian is the founder of NexChapter, host of CSP’s Retail Media Network Forum and C-StoreTEC advisory board chairman.

The two talk about the evolution of retail media networks and dive into how StackAdapt’s programmatic advertising platform empowers convenience retailers to unlock new opportunities in retail media.

CSP’s 2025 Retail Media Network Forum will take place April 28-30 in Dallas. Request an invitation to the event by clicking here. 

“At Your Convenience” brings industry experts and analysts together with CSP editors to discuss the latest in c-store news and trends. From mergers and acquisitions to foodservice and technology, the podcast delivers the story straight to listeners in short-format episodes, perfect for the morning commute or a quick break at the office.

In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Diane Adam talks to Olivia Parker, outreach and communications manager at Parker’s Kitchen, Savannah, Georgia. They discuss  the success of the second-annual Convenience-Store Women (CSW) Event held Nov. 4-6 in Charleston, South Carolina. They also talk about working in the family business. Parker shared her career path on stage at CSW. 

Parker now serves as the outreach and communications manager for the retailer overseeing planning and implementing charitable programs that support Parker’s nonprofit partners, engaging company associates in community initiatives, and ensuring that philanthropic efforts align with Parker’s core values. 

“This is a good fit for me,” Parker said. “I am doing everything I can to continue to learn about the family business.”

In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Rachel Gignac talks to three convenience-store retailers from Midwest Petroleum, Southwest Georgia Oil Co. and Loop Neighborhood Market, along with the managing director of Conexxus.

First, Kristina Anderson, chief services officer at Midwest Petroleum talks about how the company is striving to make better use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Then, Glennie Bench, president and COO of Southwest Georgia Oil Co., shares her perspective on women in leadership roles, especially in the technology category.

Varish Goyal, CEO of Loop Neighborhood Market, discusses the convenience-store chain's goals with inventory management, retail media and more.

Lastly, Linda Toth, managing director of Conexxus, talks about takeaways from the conference.