NACS

"A little c-store with big flavor,” is how Amanda Mire, who co-owns Mire’s Grocery with her husband Jimmie, describes her store. The store is small, and it’s located in the unincorporated community of Vatican, Louisiana.

“My husband’s grandparents opened the store in 1979,” she explained. The store was built in front of their house, and eventually her husband’s grandfather opened a small gas station on the side. In 2013, they retired after running the store for 31 years, and passed operations onto the younger generation.

Today, Mire's Grocery is known for its plate lunches and a fan favorite, the Mire's Burger, made with a mix of ground beef and pork.

Read more in month's issue of NACS Magazine's Gas Station Gourmet column...see link in comments below.

When local television stations ask viewers to vote on their favorite restaurant, convenience stores don’t often make those lists. However, United Deli & Grocery in Columbus, Mississippi, is bucking this trend.

In 2025, the store won the WCBI News - Celebrating 67 years Viewer’s Choice Award. And that’s not its only award: Mississippi Magazine named United Deli & Grocery the maker of “Mississippi’s Best Sandwich” and The Columbus Dispatch readers voted the store “Best Deli in the Triangle.”

So, what’s the secret?

“I’d say the cook sets us apart. Second, the quality of the meat,” said owner John Musa, adding, “People drive 20 or 40 miles to eat here. You have to be there for your customers.”

Read more in the latest Gas Station Gourmet article in NACS Magazine:

&Grocery | Stafford Shurden

The Best Sandwich in Mississippi The #1 trusted source of information for decision makers in the convenience industry.

Charlie's Saint Street Grocery Deli in Lafayette, Louisiana, doesn’t mess with the favorites that customers know and love. The store often sells out of its plate lunches, especially its meatball stew.

“The store doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to this community. It’s not about us—it’s about the neighborhood," said store owner Charlie Shank in the latest issue of NACS Magazine: https://www.nacsmagazine.com/Issues/April-2026/The-Community%E2%80%99s-Convenience-Store?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Organic_Campaign_NACSMag_Content_GSG-Shank_Target__Date_040326

“Everyone said ‘You’re not going to make it.’ Then Covid came ... I didn’t have the money to do this. I was 28. I mortgaged my house. I had negative $200 in my account.”

But then, things took off.

In 2019, Mikey Stutes opened Mikey's Seafood & Specialty Meats - Estherwood in Estherwood, Louisiana. Today, the store offers traditional c-store items, a meat market and great Cajun food—including crawfish supplied from his farm—as well as plate lunches seven days a week. And on Sundays, it’s all about barbecue.

Read more in the February issue of NACS Magazine.

Everyone Said, ‘You’re Not Going to Make It’ The #1 trusted source of information for decision makers in the convenience industry.

How many convenience stores are there? According to newly released data, it's just shy of 152,000. Read more in NACS Daily...click on the "See details" tab below.