Real estate investment firm Peachtree Group has committed up to $200 million for Briad Group to open 40 mini travel centers in the Northeast, introducing a multibrand retail concept in the region
Each site is slated to feature Circle K convenience stores and quick-service eateries such as Wendy’s and Dunkin’. Atlanta-based Peachtree on Monday said it was leveraging its private-credit lending business to expand into the convenience-and-fuel retail sector, targeting funds for Briad to acquire sites for the convenience store developments.
The financing arrangement supports two to four Circle K convenience store and travel center projects annually over the next several years, according to Peachtree. The idea behind the locations, slated to be roughly 7,000 square feet each, is to combine “fuel, convenience retail and nationally recognized quick-service restaurants such as Wendy’s, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and Buffalo Wild Wings Go,” Peachtree said.
With construction costs for standalone quick-service restaurants rising, the multibrand travel center concept is a more economical way to open new locations for such eateries, according to Briad. And multibrand, one-stop travel centers have been successful in the West, Briad said.
Peachtree has already closed a deal with Briad to develop travel center involving Circle K, Wendy’s and Dunkin’ at 267 Court St. in Binghamton, New York. Briad expects that location to debut in roughly six to nine months, Alexandra Seward, Briad’s director of marketing, said in an email to CoStar News.
The Binghamton site “will be the first of the 40 multibrand Circle K convenience centers we are developing across the Northeast as part of this long-term partnership,” she said.
Seward added that “this is a newly designed model featuring all three brands under one structure. The building includes two dedicated drive-thru’s — one for Dunkin’ and one for Wendy’s — along with a 4,700-square-foot Circle K convenience store and eight fuel pumps in front. It’s a unique, single-tenant layout engineered specifically for this partnership by Briad’s in-house engineering team.”
New configuration
Although Circle K partners with a variety of quick-service chains, “this specific multibrand configuration is unique,” according to Seward. “As we continue to grow, we anticipate incorporating additional [quick-service] concepts such as Jimmy John’s, Buffalo Wild Wings Go, and others,” she said.
Peachtree’s financing supports Briad’s recently announced agreement with Circle K to more than double the brand’s presence in the Empire State. Under that deal, Briad plans to roll out franchised Circle K stores throughout upstate New York, adding to the chain’s current base of about 30 locations statewide.
“Across regions like Texas, this multibrand, one-stop travel-center approach has proven highly successful — but it remains largely untapped in the Northeast,” Seward said. “We believe in this concept because it brings trusted nationally recognized brands together in a single, modern, guest-friendly environment. Travelers gain more choice, convenience, and speed, while the combined model strengthens performance across all dayparts, increases customer satisfaction, and drives incremental revenue.”
Briad, based in Livingston, New Jersey, is a growing retail and hotel property developer. It’s a franchisee for Wendy’s, Circle K, Inspire Brands’ Dunkin’ and Buffalo Wild Wings Go, in addition to working with hospitality brands Marriott and Hilton. Over the past decade, Briad has developed, operated and managed more than 200 restaurants and built 40 hotels.
Peachtree and Briad share a relationship that goes back further. Since 1999, Peachtree has provided Briad with more than $100 million in financing for ground-up Marriott and Hilton hotel developments.
Briad and Circle K are looking to develop travel centers “not only along major interchanges, but also within small-town communities where modern, multibrand convenience centers can make a meaningful impact,” according to Seward.