Parker’s Convenience Stores celebrate 40 years in business
The 2024 year signifies four decades of Parker’s flourishing chain of convenience stores throughout the Golden Isles. The Parker family’s presence in the region dates back nearly one hundred years, and what began as a single store in Appling County called the “Baxley Express” has since expanded to include 11 locations.
“I learned a lot in just a short time. I guess it came natural in a way because my grandfather owned a gas station in Collins–a very small town about 20 minutes from Vidalia, where I grew up,” says Patrick Parker. His father was a wholesale gas distributor described as a “very smart, funny guy with many friends and a great, homespun wisdom.”
Patrick’s first hire was Appling County native Rilene Folsom, who was recommended to him on three separate occasions before he visited her at home to seek her help. Parker says she was a great manager for a fledgling business as she “knew everybody in town” and had a near lifetime of experience working at Tomberlin Grocery, another family store run by her mother. While Folsom had been a seasoned cashier since age eight, Parker confesses that he didn’t know much about the business when he opened in 1984. But with Rilene’s help, his first venture prospered from the “get-go.”
The property was owned by Patrick’s father, and Folsom was on-site as construction took place. Serving as the sole manager for 19 years, she describes the store’s opening as “the most exciting thing to happen in Baxley at the time.” She was happy to cover shifts whenever her hires were sick or tied up and says Parker was always willing to help with merchandise and inventory. “We backed each other up,” she says.
In 1986, Patrick and his wife, Dana, moved to St. Simons Island and opened a store two years later, where Three Little Birds is located in The Village. Parker eventually sold his original Baxley Express, but later opened a new store 10 miles down U.S. Highway 341 at a business intersection in Surrency.
Now that his son, Jack, has returned to the Golden Isles after completing college in Texas, the business enters its fourth generation. “We’re very excited that Jack has joined our family business,” said Parker. “We’re looking to grow again, and he wants to build stores!”
As Patrick begins his fifth decade in the business, Parker’s has earned a regional reputation as “the convenience store with more.” From the earliest days, the store’s top priorities were cleanliness and 24-hour service. The store often issued free coffee and cokes for service members, and items were priced fairly yet competitively. “We had a lot of competition, but it didn’t really bother us,” says Folsom.
Loyal shoppers may have noticed that Parker’s inventory varies by location; Parker’s on St. Simons is known for its gourmet foods, wine selection, and beach items, while stores in Sterling, Surrency, and Hinesville feature homestyle “country cooking that will make you good-looking!”
Parker says his team members have considerable input regarding the stores’ offerings. “We listen to our managers,” he said, noting that certain brands and items are added based on customer requests. “Since we aren’t a large corporate chain, we have the flexibility to stock a wide range of items to meet specific market needs.”
Parker’s is implementing many in-store improvements to better meet customers’ needs. A new app is now available that makes it easy to shop with real-time gas prices, mobile pay, special monthly savings, and exclusive rewards. PumpPerks members save up to 10 cents a gallon daily on gas.
Community presence and customer dedication are hallmarks of the Parker’s brand. “Our customers are always on the go, and we’re always looking for new ways to make their Parker’s experience even better,” he said.
“Since we opened in 1984, our mission has been to make our customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable,” Parker said. “We are thankful for our team members and our many loyal customers who are the very reason why we are celebrating this milestone in our company’s history.”
“People were so good to me,” says Folsom, speaking fondly of the years spent serving the company and its customers. “I loved them so much.”
Learn more about Parker’s Convenience Stores and how to enroll in the PumpPerks program by visiting www.parkersga.com. The new mobile app provides access to real-time gas prices for each location, mobile pay, special monthly savings, and exclusive rewards.
