Maverik replaces Kum & Go in Cheyenne
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| Old Kum & Go/Go Fresh Market sign sits next to newly installed Maverik sign - Optopolis |
Maverik has rebranded the Cheyenne stores, and the Cheyenne-themed ampersand ("&") sculpture previously located at the Dell Range location has been saved.
Maverik to retire Kum & Go, begins rebranding stores
Maverik was set to only rebrand Kum & Go in the four main states where there was overlap between the two brands (in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho), but they decided they want to retire Kum & Go entirely by 2025. This has been a point of mild controversy on the internet with some people saying they shouldn't rebrand any Kum & Go stores, others saying they should've stuck with the original plan to partially rebrand, and others yet saying they should retire Kum & Go entirely. In spite of the debate on the internet, Maverik has already long-since begun the rebrand process. Utah stores were rebranded to Maverik earlier this year.
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| Kum & Go in the midst of the sign changeover - Optopolis |
Throughout summer 2024, the Colorado stores were rebranded, and Colorado's rebrand process was finished earlier this month. A recent press release from Maverik states that between Utah and Colorado, 97 rebrands have taken place. Wyoming was set to be next on the list, and Wyoming's nine stores are set to be rebranded by early October. Saratoga's store is expected to be the last Wyoming store to rebrand, planned to officially reopen on the 1st of October.
Cheyenne rebrand takes place, E-85 is still present!
Cheyenne's remaining two Kum & Go stores were the first two Wyoming locations on the list to be rebranded. The Lincolnway location and its kitchen closed on August 23rd with plans to reopen on August 28th. The Dell Range location (which featured a self-standing decorated ampersand sculpture) closed its kitchen on August 18th, closed its store on August 25th, and softly reopened on August 28th.
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| Several Maverik Gas pumps at the Dell Range store feature E-85 and Eco Unlimited - Optopolis |
The gas pumps were swapped over to Maverik branding on the respective first day of store closure (Lincolnway on August 23rd and Dell Range on August 25th). Many people have asked Optopolis if the two former Kum & Go stations will continue to have E-85, and the answer is yes. Several of the Maverik-branded pumps at both locations feature E-85.
The ampersand sculpture sign is saved!
After making one final visit to both stores on August 18th, a question came to mind at Optopolis: What's gonna happen with the decorated, self-standing ampersand sculpture at the Dell Range store? More specifically, this sign is the "&" sign that features historic aspects of Cheyenne; although some similar "&" signs existed in a few other cities including Loveland and Rock Springs, there is only one Cheyenne-themed sign.
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| The Ampersand seen at the northwest corner of the Dell Range Kum & Go features popular Cheyenne topics and themes - Optopolis |
A worker at the Dell Range store commented initially that workers at the station wanted to talk to the City of Cheyenne to see if they wanted it. It's unclear to Optopolis if this conversation took place. A few days later, however, on August 22nd, a Cheyenne resident told Optopolis that the old store manager was going to collect the sign. It turns out the sign was to be picked up on Saturday, August 24th.
It appears that the original manager of the Dell Range Kum & Go was Candi V. She posted publicly in the morning of August 24th a photo of the "&" sign sitting near the east side of the then-Dell Range Kum & Go. She stated in the comments of her post that she was the general manager of the Dell Range Kum & Go and said that the sign is "headed to a backyard in...Utah."
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| Workers of Sign Products install a Maverik sign on the canopy above the gas pumps - Optopolis |
While a few Cheyenne residents were a little upset to learn it won't be staying in Cheyenne, many people seem to be happy to hear the sign isn't going to the dump and that the sign will be preserved. A photo posted on August 25th to Candi's post's comments shows the sign's "[temporary] place until [they] get the pad poured!"
On a slightly different note, the ampersand sign in Rock Springs (what appears to be the only other Kum & go ampersand sculpture in the state of Wyoming) was saved by a local resident in Rock Springs, and that ampersand is now expected to be moved to a new location in the Rock Springs area.
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