anyone here familiar with the gas station chain called "kum and go"? (and no, I am not making

[niyad]

the name up). The chain is proposing to put one of their oh-so-green and healthy stations in our neighborhood. Went to a community meeting about it last night, and all I heard was how wonderful they are, how philanthropic, how green, how healthy. Thought I was going to throw up.

Reading their website makes them sound oh-so-cool and civic-minded (which, of course, few believe). Just wondering if anyone here has experience with them being in your neighborhood, and how that is working.

Thanks in advance.

[BlueToTheBone]

1. They're all over Arkansas

and they're just gas stations.

[backscatter712]

2. I've seen a couple of them here in Colorado.

And I always wonder whether those places are gas stations or drive-thru brothels!

Fill 'er up!

[Brickbat]

3. Sounds like any other business trying to enter a market.

"Kum and go" is funny (see 'em all over the Midwest), but I prefer the Pump'n'Munch, myself.

[Marrah_G]

4. Speaking of business names that make you go "no fk'n way!!!!":

North shore of Boston: Bunghole liquors

Yes, it took a liquor store for me to find out what that word means.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunghole

"A bunghole or bungehole is a hole bored in a liquid-tight barrel to remove contents. The hole is capped with a large cork-like object called a bung. Acceptable usage include other access points that may be capped with alternate materials providing an air- or water-tight access to other vessels. For example a bunghole on a combustion chamber can be used to remove slag or add coal.[1]

Bungholes can also be utilized to insert and remove sensing probes or equipment like mixers to agitate the contents within a vessel.[2]
Bungholes were first used on wooden barrels, and were typically bored by the purchaser of the barrel using a brace and bit. Bungholes can be bored in either head (end) of a barrel or in one of the staves (side). With the bung removed, a tapered faucet can be attached to aid with dispensing. When barrels full of a commodity were shipped, the recipient would often bore new bungholes of the most suitable size and placement rather than remove the existing bung. Wooden barrels manufactured by specialty firms today usually are bored by the maker with suitable bungholes, since the hobbyists who purchase them for the making of beer, wine, and fermented foods often do not have a suitable brace and bit[citation needed].

Closed-head steel barrels and drums now used for shipment of chemicals and petroleum products have a standardized bunghole arrangement, with one 2 in NPT and one 3/4 in NPT threaded bunghole on opposite sides of the top head. Some steel barrels are also equipped with a 2 in threaded bunghole on the side.

Bungholes can be made on the bottom of small boats. The hole would have a small piece of cork (Bung) in the hole while in use by the owner; when it was not in use the owner would remove the bung so if unwanted visitors decided to take the boat they would sink. Used mostly in the Renaissance and Middle Ages"

[hatrack]

6. General Manager - The Great Cornholio

[Marrah_G]

9. LOL

[MillennialDem]

11. Hahhahaha

[muntrv]

26. This guy?

[HereSince1628]

7. You might enjoy a copy of this book...

Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words

[Marrah_G]

8. I'm going to look that up

It sounds like something I would love

[HarveyDarkey]

40. I have an old copy of that book, will never part with it

Last edited Fri Jun 28, 2013, 09:17 PM - Edit history (1)

On edit: The Grandiloquent Dictionary is pretty good too.

[zappaman]

39. You might not believe this...

but I actually wore their cap today.

[Marrah_G]

44. Isn't that the one in Peabody?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

43. I own a bunghole mixer. Got it at Home Depot. I use it for drywall mud.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. We have them here in town and they seem just like any other quick stop gas station.

I've never heard any talk about them being especially green or healthy.

And, yeah, I couldn't believe the name the first time I saw the sign go up, either.

[niyad]

10. are those stations right across the street from your house. because that is what will happen here

[Arkansas Granny]

18. They aren't across the street from my house, but some of them are in residential

areas.

[Flashmann]

12. familiar with the gas station chain called "kum and go"?

We had them in Colorado,(Glenwood Springs)...They're still there,WE aren't...My oldest daughter managed the one,10 miles away in Newcastle,for a while...They're like any other 7-11 type Convenience Mart,with gas pumps.Nothing I ever saw or heard set them apart from other similar store.

[hfojvt]

38. in my experience

they sell, or offer, more porn than the average gas station.

As such, I always made a point to avoid them.

[Flashmann]

42. than the average gas station

Huh...My daughter never mentioned that,either way.Beyond a general awareness that those stores have that stuff behind the counter,(The Easy Riders and High Times I used to buy are back there too),I would have never noticed which had more or less porn...What we have where we are now,east central Illinois,there are Circle K stores.Next time I'm in one,I'll try to notice,just for grins...

[HappyMe]

13. We don't have a kum and go here.

We have a couple of Stewarts gas stations/convenience stores. I think there is one called Quickie around here too.

[TransitJohn]

17. In Laramie a decade ago

we had both a Kum & Go and a Quik & Eazy, ha.

[Quantess]

14. South Dakota.

All I know is that they have convenience stores that serve weak coffee.

[Sissyk]

15. Kum here to DU for questions?

Go here for your answers! lol http://www.kumandgo.com

History of Kum & Go

Take a glance in the rearview mirror and see just how far the company has traveled in its more than 50 year history....





W.A. Krause and T.S. Gentle founded Kum & Go, L.C. on September 1, 1959. When the two Hampton entrepreneurs opened their small full-service gas station, they couldn't have known it was only the beginning of a business which would become known for unmatched ingenuity and courageous risk-taking.





In 1963, based on a desire to further serve customers, Kum & Go, L.C. introduced the convenience store concept by offering fuel and merchandise - converting their "gas station" into a "station store."




By late 1977, Kum & Go had grown to 65 convenience stores employing 327 people.




The 1980s brought further innovations in convenience with the addition of quick serve restaurants - including Blimpie, Taco John's and Burger King - in several stores.




Kum & Go opened its first store in Des Moines in 1984.




In 1988, the headquarters were moved from Hampton to West Des Moines - the fastest growing city in Iowa.




By the end of the 80s, Kum & Go had 134 stores across the Midwest.




In 1996, Kum & Go opened 22 new stores.




In 1997, the company opened 14 new stores.




In 1998, Kum & Go added 122 new stores.




In early 1999, the company capped a decade of phenomenal growth with the acquisition of an additional 45 stores.




In 2002, Iowa gained another 12 stores, including 7 in Des Moines, 2 in Fort Dodge and one each in Oskaloosa, Carroll and Grinnell.




Sixty-eight stores were added under the Kum & Go brand in Missouri and Oklahoma in 2004.




Kum & Go entered the Jonesboro, AR market in 2006 with 11 new stores.




During 2009 Kum & Go strengthened its presence in Springfield & Joplin, MO with 36 new stores.




A number of stores in the Des Moines, IA area were remodeled in 2010 to incorporate Go Fresh Market kitchens.




Kum & Go opened its first two stores in central Arkansas in 2011, planning to build 25 in the area within five years.



Though Kum & Go operated nearly 40 stores in the state of Colorado, 2012 marked the opening of the first store in Colorado Springs.




Today




The pioneering spirit of Kum & Go's founders continues to drive the company forward into the future. As the fifth largest privately-held, company-operated convenience store chain in the United States, Kum & Go operates more than 400 stores in 11 states throughout the Midwest. Thanks to the efforts of its more than 4,000 associates, Kum & Go continues to strive for excellence in customer service and convenience - serving more than 400,000 customers each day.

[niyad]

28. if you read my post, it should have been clear that I had already done that. I need to know what

they are REALLY like, NOT what their pr says, but thanks anyway

[Sissyk]

45. You're welcome!

[DesMoinesDem]

16. There are a lot of Kum and Gos around me.

They're typical gas stations. During the summer they have a special on fountain drinks if that is your thing. Something like 69 cents for 32 ounces.

[onethatcares]

25. oh, hell

that rules out expansion to NYC

[janlyn]

19. Here in Fayetteville

there is 2 of them, and they are trying for a third. I can't say I have seen them doing anything green. Just a gas station like any other.

[exboyfil]

20. For years Cummins Engine

had the stock symbol CUM. It was evidently changed. Local university's Business college went by School of Business (SOB) (the school which I have my MBA from).

[sinkingfeeling]

21. Yes, they came into this part of the state about 2 years ago. They start out

building almost next to our E-Z Marts and undercutting their gasoline price by a penny or two. Once the E-Z Mart closes, they then become one of the higher priced stations in town. We have at least 5 of them, with another 2 in the works.

I was very upset that the city just sold an old Tyson's plant to them, PAID for the demolition of the structure, and will allow the station to be built on the side of town where the 3 stations there already run the lowest price per gallon.

[niyad]

29. okay, this is the sort of information I am looking for. thank you.

sounds just like wal-mart, doesn't it?

[niyad]

33. according to this article, the city apparently backed down on that (if the report is true)

http://www.fayettevilleflyer.com/2013/04/03/company-pays-city-91000-to-scrap-former-tyson-mexican-original-plant/

regardless, what you told me about what they did to the other stations is one more reason not to want them in this neighborhood.

[Bluenorthwest]

22. Here is my favorite local statio, with some green and sustainable features to compare

Local products in the store, solar panels and 'green grass roofs'

http://www.sqbiofuels.com/retail

[niyad]

37. thank you for that--kind of place I would go to, if this city actually gave a damn about the

environment

[kestrel91316]

23. To their credit, it's not "Cum and Go".

[kas125]

24. In the 70's I worked at a Greek restaurant called

the Ela Cum Inn. Tried once to explain to the owner why he should change the name, but I finally gave up and just laughed. Customers thought it was a joke and would laugh about it all the time, many times telling me they came there just because of the name. The owner told me that ela means come, so the name meant Come, Come In, lol

[Ilsa]

27. I think my cousin worked for them, was paid better

than most retail-type jobs. Aside from that, I don't know anything.

[madinmaryland]

30. That was Nascar driver Dick Trickle's sponsor on the Nascar circuit!!

[Dash87]

31. Is the gas station connected to a Quicky-Mart?

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

32. I saw one in Sheridan Wyoming

but didn't have an occasion to use it. The name, though, proves I have a dirty mind!

[tammywammy]

34. According to their website

Some of this green stuff a regular person wouldn't know about, but is important. LEED certified, sustainable building materials, reflective roofing, and energy efficient appliances/toilets/sinks. And some they may notice like LED lighting and the recycling cans next to the trash cans.

These things sound very positive for any company.

[scarletwoman]

35. I don't know anything about them except that when traveling south along I35,

between St. Paul, MN and Kansas City, MO, the Kum 'n' Go at the Des Moines exit just before the West I90 split, always seemed to have the cheapest gas prices along the route. Several years ago my youngest son was in college in KC, so I drove that stretch of freeway about 2 - 3 times a year. I always stopped there because it was about the midpoint of the trip, and close to when my car's gas tank was getting toward empty.

One time I made one major mistake, though. I hadn't eaten a Burger King Whopper since the early 60s, and since there was a Burger King attached to the station, in a moment of weakness (and munchies) I thought, "What the hell? I think I'll get a Whopper." OMG! I had the runs the whole rest of the way into KC. I had to pull over at every single rest stop along the rest of the way, and if a rest stop wasn't available, I had to hit other gas stations - it was a long, slow, excruciating trip. Never again!

[arely staircase]

36. near the in and out burger?

nt

[burnodo]

41. It's a front for prostitution

You get 10 cents a gallon off if you book a date

[niyad]

46. . . .