Gate Petroleum Co. opened its 11040 McCormick Road store this morning in the East Arlington area.
Jacksonville-based Gate now owns and operates 72 stores in the five states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Kentucky.
Bryan Cake is the manager of the new store, which will employ 12 people. The Gate store will operate from
6 a.m.-11 p.m. seven days a week.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts was scheduled to distribute free doughnuts for customers from 6-8 a.m. today and Flowers Foods Inc. planned to give away free Tastykake products from 8-10 a.m.
The St. Johns River Water Management District was scheduled to present a Florida Water Star plaque to the store for water conservation certification.
The "Gate Beyond Convenience" logo was launched in the fall to reflect its "commitment to being more than just your average convenience store by going beyond a customer's expectations."
"We have clean, clutter-free interiors; well-lit exteriors; a wide array of quality merchandise/products and above all else, warm, friendly employees who care deeply about the customers' experience in our stores," said spokeswoman Kristen Beach.
"In another way, it also highlights the fact that GATE is also more than the convenience stores many know us for. We also operate a fuel services division, construction materials division, hospitality division and real estate division," she said in an email.