C-Stores Usher In the Labor Day Weekend

For the industry, the traditional end of summer is just the beginning.

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Labor Day, this coming (long) weekend, is held by many to be the traditional end of summer. Vacations are over. The kids are back in school. Interns have returned to their respective universities. Plus it’s getting dark earlier. It won’t be long until frost, snow, and cold become the order of the day.

This might make some people sad, but when you think about it, the Labor Day Weekend represents an open door to the holiday season and all the fun that the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas seasons have in store—not to mention the NACS Show now less than two months away.

In addition, it’s a weekend with a truck load of opportunity for convenience stores—a kind of final crescendo to the summertime retail boost. That’s certainly worth celebrating, right? More motorists will be on the road, for one thing, and they have needs that a convenience store can fulfill. With so much of the country bathed in sunshine there’s sure to be an expected bump in beverage sales. Plenty of people will be looking for fuel and other supplies for what is perhaps their last chance to camp in sunny weather, and grilling accessories are always in demand this time of year.

Given the events of the last few days in Houston and the surrounding areas, this Labor Day has also provided a means for convenience store chains, like Rutter’s and our corporate partner, Circle K, to come through when they are needed. That makes us feel good, too, not just about the season, but about the industry we work in.

So Labor day is anything but an end, it’s a beginning—a transitional milestone during which we get to honor the contribution each one of us makes on the job, with our families, and to everything else we hold near and dear to us. Have fun! And fill up at your local gas station/convenience store!