Kum & Go is going away. Its new owner is rebranding all of its locations
New York
CNN
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Kum & Go, the Midwestern gas station chain that gained national fame for the immature snickers its name often receives, is making a change.
Maverik, a rival chain that bought Kum & Go in 2023, announced that it's in "process of rebranding Kum & Go stores, with the intent to unify our entire combined footprint under the Maverik brand," marking an eventual end to the 49-year-old naughty name.
"While we're committed to this vision, we are taking a thoughtful, market-by-market approach to ensure the best customer experience before confirming each state's rebrand," a Maverick spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. A specific timeline for when the Kum & Go name will be fully retired wasn't revealed.
Kum & Go was founded in Iowa in 1959 by Bill Krause and his father-in-law T.S. Gentle as Hampton Oil Co. and eventually expanded across the Midwest, changing its name to Kum & Go in 1975.
A Wawa store is seen on May 29, 2024 in Washington, DC. The convenience store and gas station chain, which has its origins in Pennsylvania, recently opened its first store in North Carolina with 10 more expected across the state this year. It aims to open up to 100 new stores each year, reaching 2,000 stores by 2030.
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In a 1993 interview with the Des Moines Register, Krause said that the K stood for his name and the G stood for Gentle, choosing the Kum & Go brand because "it had the fewest number of letters so the signs would be cheaper." The inferred sexual innuendo became a part of its reputation.
"I can bristle and be offended, or I can look at the fact that 100,000 people a day come through the doors of Kum & Go," Krause said, who died in 2013.
Despite being a regional chain, the brand has often found itself in the national spotlight. A line of branded merchandise bearing the name exploded in popularity when Johnny Knoxville wore a Kum & Go T-shirt in the sequel to the "Jackass" movie.
Kum & Go has 400 locations spread throughout 13 states in the US Midwest and South. Maverik's acquisition brings the combined number of locations to about 800 and makes it the 12th largest convenience and gas station chain in the United States.
