Eleven properties to change hands today with sale closing soon.
Neighbors Stores Inc. is selling 11 stores to Circle K, citing increasing competition from larger corporations, for the move, The Mount Airy News reported.
The properties sold include Neighbors stores in high-traffic areas of Surry County, N.C. The sites changed hands Monday, with the sale to be closed later. For the time being, Neighbors Stores will continue to retain eight stores, but all are planned for divestment and negotiations are pending.
Included among the sites purchased by Circle K are Neighbors on Rockford Street (U.S. 601) in Mount Airy, along with other stores: on Red Brush Road off Interstate 74, in Pilot Mountain, in Fairview near the intersection of N.C. 268 and U.S. 601 and two located in Elkin; as well as outlets in Forsyth and Guilford counties.
Neighbors’ owner Gary York told The Mount Airy News that changing economic conditions favoring the powerful are the catalyst for the sale. “It’s just a matter of the huge companies will dominate this business,” he said. “I think all the people can see that survival is going to be of the big companies that have tremendous buying power.”
The sale to Circle K comes after a 2-3 year negotiation process to find a buyer for Neighbors Stores that would be similarly community-minded.
Although he acknowledged that it is “time to move on,” York told the paper running Neighbors has been “a blessing” to him. “It’s been a tremendous opportunity for me.”