Students Mourn the Loss of Circle K

Georgina America
7 hours ago
2 min read

The Circle K gas station on Belmont Boulevard has been rebranded to MAPCO.

Though the functions of MAPCO are the same, for many Belmont students, Circle K had been there from the start of their freshman year.

“Circle K was a staple of Belmont, and it makes me sad that it’s gone,” said Belmont junior Hannah Mastrofski.

MAPCO placed signs over Circle K in mid-July. Some students were disappointed to see the change when they came back to campus.

Whether it was seeing the familiar faces of employees or running into friends during a late-night snack run, Circle K extended the Belmont community to across the boulevard.

“I feel like things have been out of order. It’s not the same,” said Mastrofski.

Open 24-hours a day, Belmont students will still have easy access to the MAPCO gas station and convenience store.

“When I first saw the MAPCO sign, it really struck my heart,” said senior Jack Ringenbach.

The green and white MAPCO banners are a distinct contrast to the once red, white and yellow Circle K signs.

The reason for this change follows a proposed counter-anticompetitive order by the Federal Trade Commission that is supposed to protect Americans from higher fuel costs.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the parent company of Circle K, divested 35 of its retail fuel outlets in compliance of FTC order.

One of those fuel outlets was the Circle K on Belmont Boulevard, which was acquired by Majors Management LLC, the parent company of MAPCO.

The FTC website says that the order resolves antitrust concerns surrounding Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s $1.57 billion acquisition of 270 retail fuel outlets from the grocery store chain Giant Eagle, Inc.

With just one parent company wielding operations over so many fuel outlets, competition in the market becomes limited and prices can increase.

In other words, handing over business operations to MAPCO could keep more money in students’ pockets.

While students will no longer be crossing Belmont Boulevard to Circle K, they still have a place to fuel up and to stock up on snacks nearby.

MAPCO employees declined to comment.

This story was written by Georgina America