How to Start a Gas Station With a Convenience Store

NACS counts 122,620 U.S. convenience stores selling motor fuel, the highest figure in eight years, and estimates convenience stores sell about 80% of the fuel U.S. consumers buy. A gas station is a fuel business and a retail business on one lot, and the start-up plan has to cover both.

1. Understand the economics

NACS's 2025 data makes the point clearly: fuel was 65% of sales dollars but 38.8% of gross profit dollars. Fuel brings customers to the lot; the store is where most of the profit is made. Plan the store as seriously as the pumps. See how convenience stores make money.

2. Find a site that can take fuel

Zoning must allow fuel sales. The site needs room for dispensers, a canopy, tanks, truck delivery access and safe traffic flow. Environmental history matters: a former station may carry contamination. See choosing a location and our gas station site planning guide.

3. Choose your fuel supply

• Branded: a supply agreement with a major brand. Usually comes with image standards, card programs and sometimes incentives tied to volume or image upgrades.
• Unbranded: fuel bought from a jobber or on the rack market under your own name, with more pricing freedom.

Read the supply agreement's term, volume commitments and image requirements carefully. They shape your costs for years.

4. Plan for tank regulation

Underground storage tanks (USTs) are regulated under federal rules at 40 CFR Part 280 and by state programs, which usually do the registration and inspections. Expect requirements for registration, leak detection, spill and overfill prevention, operator training, periodic inspections and financial responsibility for cleanups. Your fuel-system contractor and state UST agency are the people to talk to first.

5. Budget for the forecourt

Terrapin Construction Group describes the forecourt as a major cost center, often rivaling the building. Tanks, piping, dispensers, canopy and site work are their own budget. See cost to build a convenience store.

6. Design the store

The store should be planned with the forecourt, so customers move from the pumps to the door, the cooler wall and checkout. That's our work: floor plan, equipment, refrigeration and fixtures. See gas station convenience store design.

7. Finance it

Lenders usually treat a gas station as a special-purpose property, which affects down payments on SBA 504 loans. See financing.

Buying instead of building

Buying an existing station is faster, but it carries tank and environmental risk. See the gas station buying checklist.

Sources

• NACS, "2026 Sees Slight Decrease in C-Store Count" (January 2026).
• NACS, "U.S. Convenience In-Store Sales Top $340 Billion" (April 2026).
• U.S. EPA, underground storage tank regulations, 40 CFR Part 280.
• Terrapin Construction Group, "Convenience Store & Gas Station Construction Cost (2026)."