Popular convenience store brand shutting down

If you've ever been on the road for work or pleasure, you've probably been met with a familiar problem. 

Whether you forgot to pack snacks or you've been driving for hours and have run out of your supply, you're hungry and in need of a break. 

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Unless you're a competitive driver, or you're a dad who simply refuses to make bathroom stops along the way, you probably have stopped at a roadside convenience store. 

Depending on where you are, though, the quality and scope of convenience stores range from rudimentary to downright palatial. 

Buc-ee's, for example, is renowned across the U.S. for its iconic convenience stores. 

The average Buc-ee's is about 35,000 square feet, and offers everything from jerky bars to t-shirts to sparkling clean bathrooms. 

For comparison, the average 7-Eleven is only about 3,500 square feet.

Though if you've traveled before, you've probably also found yourself in one of these for a reliable cup of coffee or an energy drink. 

Quick and easy retail is changing

Convenience stores used to be critical to the retail experience. 

And, to be sure, many c-stores are still turning a profit.

But this is largely because of their placement; Buc-ee's, for example, places itself strategically near high-traffic parts of the country near highways. 

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It also offers cheap gas and a lot of variety, which has served as something of a mythological pilgrimage for weary drivers. 

But Buc-ee's is more the exception and less the rule. 

Many other convenience stores have struggled, as it becomes harder to differentiate themselves from competition and the rising cost of operation makes it harder to keep the lights on. 

It's hard to make a profit these days when the cost of everything from electricity to coffee is on the rise, but consumers expect rock-bottom prices -- and fewer of them come.

Popular convenience store shuts down key brand 

This is the case with Allsup’s Express. 

The convenience store, run by Yesway, is shutting down after just three years in business. 

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Allsup’s Express was run as a small-format convenience store targeted mainly at hungry and broke college kids in Texas. It sold the kinds of things most students would seek out on busy days, including: 

• Coffee
• Energy drinks
• Signature burritos
• Snacks

Allsup's Express was clustered around college hubs in Texas, like the Waco and Lubbock area, which are near Baylor and Texas Tech, respectively. 

But thanks to a rise in competition and shifting consumer preferences, the last remaining Allsup’s Express has shut down. 

There is still one Allsup’s Express Grab & Go store located at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, though it's only open on race days.

A spokesperson for Yesway, which still runs over 240 stores across Texas, said that the decision to sunset the brand represents a part of the chain's broader growth strategy. 

“We plan to continue our growth in Texas and are focused on building the best network of store locations in the state, currently at 248 strong, to meet the needs of our valued customers,” the spokesperson said.