Celebrating 50 years in business, Clark’s Pump-N-Shop is reshaping fuel and retail convenience
With 63 stores across Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, Clark’s Pump-N-Shop (Clark’s) is a family-owned network of fueling stations and convenience stores. Established in 1976 by John Clark, the business started with just one store in John’s hometown of Westwood, Kentucky. In the 1990s, when Clark’s had grown to operate 18 locations, John’s three sons, Rick, Rodney, and Brent, purchased the business and went on to grow it through strategic acquisitions and new store constructions.
Today, Clark’s operates 63 stores and remains co-owned by brothers Brent and Rick, following the passing of their brother Rodney in 2016, which went on to
inspire many of the company’s charity and community initiatives. Rick Clark joins Retail Merchandiser to share more details about Clark’s recent growth, additional stores, and the new customer loyalty program.
“Clark’s continues to grow and we’ve opened six new stores over the last two years,” Rick opens. “We provide branded gasoline from Marathon and ARCO, and around 50 percent of our stores have drive throughs. Some stores also have car washes, and we offer car wash memberships through our ‘Keep it Clean Club.’ We sell lottery tickets at all our stores, as well as a variety of convenient food ranges, which vary depending on store location but include brands like Krispy Krunchy Chicken, Champs Chicken, and Hangar 54 Pizza.
“Our stores also stock classic convenience store items, such as snacks, candy, coffee, soft drinks, healthy snacks, and grocery essentials like bread and milk. Clark’s Café offers a great line of breakfast sandwiches, including sausage biscuits and egg and cheese biscuits, which are very popular among customers.”
As Clark’s celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026, we ask Rick for his reflections on reaching this impressive milestone. “Although 1976 is our official start date, my dad started in the industry as a distributor for Gulf Oil in 1970, later purchasing that distributorship and building our first convenience store in 1976,” he recalls. “My dad instilled in us three brothers that hard work always pays off, and we’ve certainly worked hard to grow the business and continue the foundation he established.
“It takes an army of people to run this business, and it has taken us years to build a strong, successful team of loyal employees – some of our people have now been with us for more than 30 years. There are a lot of moving parts across Clark’s, but I have a great management team of loyal, accountable, and responsible individuals to support me. We treat people the way we want to be treated, and we consider all our employees as an extension of the Clark family.
“I’ve been working in this business for 41 years, so I’ve experienced a lot of significant changes during that time. The concept of gas stations has changed from pumping gas for customers to self-service kiosks with a small convenience store. Stations then had to change again to accommodate increased traffic and footfall traffic, and now bigger lots with multiple gas pumps and large stores are the new norm. Customer demands have evolved too, and we’re constantly developing our approach to delivering excellent customer experience.
“Today’s stores are much bigger and require more equipment than ever before, so it’s a big decision to open new ones, as the upfront costs are much more expensive. We operate stores in a range of locations from interstates to rural areas,” Rick shares. “When opening a potential new store, we do extensive research about the location, traffic conditions, accessibility, and local demographic to analyze whether it’s a good fit for our portfolio, but most of the time, the final decision comes down to my gut feeling.”
Technology is another field that has changed dramatically over the course of Rick’s 41-year career in the business. “When I first started, everything was done manually, but now everything is cloud-based and relies on new technologies,” Rick says. “The realm of technology is still constantly changing, and we must stay ahead of the latest developments to enhance our operations.
“Around one year ago, we launched Clark’s Loyalty Rewards Program, an app-based rewards program that offers fuel savings, members-only benefits on coffee and snacks, and bonus boosts,” he explains. “We’ve always had a very loyal customer base, so it made sense for us to establish a program that rewards them for their continued custom. App users can sign up for an account and earn ten points per $1 spent in store or 20 points for each gallon of fuel purchased. As customers accumulate points, they can redeem them for rewards such as fuel discounts per gallon or free products like sodas or even a sausage biscuit.”
When it comes to people and charity, Clark’s is passionate about investing in the communities in which it operates. “We’re the official fuel sponsor for the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, which impacts high schools across the entire state, and we support a range of organizations in the Ashland area, such as Paramount Arts Center,” Rick explains.
“We’re passionate about supporting young people and educational programs, and we set up the Clark Family Scholarship to provide students enrolled in a two-to-four-year college, university, trade school, or vocational school with a $2000 annual scholarship,” he adds. “We also run the Rodney Clark Memorial Scholarship in partnership with Ashland Community and Technical College to honor my brother’s memory. We accept general donations to this scholarship, but we also host an annual memorial golf outing to raise funds.”
As Clark’s celebrates its 50th anniversary, it’s clear that Rick is committed to the company’s values, community spirit, and innovative progress. Under his and Brent’s leadership, Clark’s will continue to invest in its people and communities, maintaining its legacy of providing more than just fuel.