# GoMart

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoMart
> Source revision: 1346705356
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Convenience store chain in West Virginia}}
{{Infobox company
| name = GoMart
| logo = GoMart logo.svg
| logo_caption = 
| logo_upright = <!-- default = 1 -->
| logo_alt = 
| type = 
| industry = [Retail](/source/Retail) ([Convenience store](/source/Convenience_store)s)
| predecessor = <!-- or: | predecessors = -->
| founded = 1971 in [Gassaway, West Virginia](/source/Gassaway%2C_West_Virginia), US
| founders = John D. Heater
| hq_location_city = [Gassaway, West Virginia](/source/Gassaway%2C_West_Virginia)
| hq_location_country = United States
| areas_served = [West Virginia](/source/West_Virginia), [Ohio](/source/Ohio), [Virginia](/source/Virginia)
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list|John D. Heater ([President](/source/President_(corporate_title)), Former [CEO](/source/Chief_Executive_Officer))|Sam Heater ([Treasurer](/source/Treasury_management))|Betty J. Heater ([Vice-President](/source/Director_(business)))|Paul Gaughan ([General manager](/source/General_manager))}}
| products = {{hlist|[coffee](/source/coffee)|[candy](/source/candy)|[prepared food](/source/Food)s|[gasoline](/source/gasoline)|[oil products](/source/oil_products)|[dairy](/source/dairy)|[snack](/source/snack)s|[various assortment of beverages](/source/Alcoholic_drink)}}
| owner = John D. Heater
| num_employees = 1,200
| num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) -->
| parent = Heater Oil Company
| website = {{URL|https://www.gomart.com/}}
}}
'''GoMart, Inc.''' is a [convenience store](/source/convenience_store) chain based in [Gassaway, West Virginia](/source/Gassaway%2C_West_Virginia). The company currently operates over 100 stores in most of the state of [West Virginia](/source/West_Virginia), and border areas of [Virginia](/source/Virginia) and [Ohio](/source/Ohio). Most Go-Mart stations are unbranded. Go-Mart is the 53rd-largest convenience store chain in the United States.<ref>[http://www.cspdailynews.com/industry-news-analysis/top-convenience-stores/retailer/gomart-inc-2017 53 Top Convenience Stores GoMart Inc.]</ref>

==History==
===1914–1970s: Precursor===
Go-Mart traces its history to 1914 when brothers Fred, Charles and Rod Heater, operating as the Heater Oil Co., began selling axle grease, kerosene and other petroleum products to farms and businesses in central West Virginia, using flat-bottomed boats on the [Little Kanawha River](/source/Little_Kanawha_River).

By the early 1920s the Heater brothers were operating bulk plants along railroad lines, and following the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression) and the death of Charles Heater, Fred Heater decided to centralize the business in Gassaway, where it is headquartered today.  In the early 1960s, Fred Heater's health was failing and he sold the business to his sons, John, William and James. 

===1970s: Founding===
When self-service gasoline pumps were legalized in West Virginia in 1970, the Heaters built the state's first self-service gas station, in [Shinnston](/source/Shinnston%2C_West_Virginia), and called it "Go-Tron."  Six months later they rebuilt their Gassaway store into their first [convenience food](/source/convenience_food) and gas store and Manager Karen Sattler named it "Go-Mart" after an employee contest. By 1977, Go-Mart had 16 stores.

===1980s–present: Expansion===
Originally it used [Chevron](/source/Chevron_Corporation) branding, as Chevron did not do business in the area, although it sourced its gasoline privately. When Chevron moved into the area as a part of the collapse of [Gulf Oil](/source/Gulf_Oil) (Chevron ultimately withdrew from West Virginia in 2010),<ref name="CSPNet">{{cite web |last=Abcede|first=Angel|url=http://www.cspnet.com/fuels-news-prices-analysis/fuels-news/articles/eastern-withdrawal-chevron |title=Eastern Withdrawal for Chevron &#124; CSP Daily News / Magazine &#124; Petroleum – CSP Information Group, Inc. – news for convenience & petroleum retailing |publisher=Cspnet.com |date=December 7, 2009 |access-date=January 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030175906/http://www.cspnet.com/fuels-news-prices-analysis/fuels-news/articles/eastern-withdrawal-chevron |archive-date=October 30, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> it switched to unbranded products, and later converted some stations to [Shell](/source/Shell_Oil_Company). The company now employs approximately 1,200 people and is the state's 41st largest private employer.<ref>http://www.csnews.com/csn/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003188288{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official|https://www.gomart.com/}}
* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/110/110474.html Go-Mart company profile at Yahoo! Biz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311154506/http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/110/110474.html |date=2007-03-11 }}

{{Convenience stores}}

Category:Braxton County, West Virginia
Category:Companies based in West Virginia
Category:Economy of the Eastern United States
Category:Convenience stores of the United States
Category:Gas stations in the United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [GoMart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoMart) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoMart?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.