RaceTrac is getting ready to plant its flag in Central Ohio, with plans for its first two Columbus-area stores taking shape in West Jefferson and Canal Winchester. One will be a large-format travel center built for truckers along the Interstate 70 logistics corridor, and the other a mid-size location aimed at everyday commuters just southeast of the city.
The Atlanta-based chain, which operates more than 600 stores across 12 states, is planning a large-format travel center at 2 Commerce Parkway in West Jefferson, according to WhatNow. The site sits along the I-70 corridor west of Columbus, an area whose industrial commerce parks already draw heavy trucking and distribution traffic, and the station is designed to serve both everyday motorists and commercial drivers. Its second planned store, a mid-size location at 5811 Gender Road in Canal Winchester, will offer diesel fuel for professional drivers and larger vehicles.
A Travel Center Built for Big Rigs
The West Jefferson site is being built with commercial trucking in mind. Per the same account, the travel center will include high-flow diesel pumps, diesel exhaust fluid, and a CAT scale, with the layout separating passenger car commuters at the front of the property from commercial truck traffic in the rear. Both new stores are expected to offer RaceTrac's typical grab-and-go food, beverages, and convenience items, and the company has said the Columbus area's continued growth makes the region attractive for expansion.
RaceTrac stores typically employ between 20 and 40 team members depending on store size, and the company offers eligible employees medical, dental, and vision benefits along with a 401(k) matching program. Founded in 1934, the privately held retailer has been building toward this Central Ohio push for years, and it isn't stopping at two stores. RaceTrac has acquired several additional development sites across Central Ohio, including property at 2555 London Groveport Road near Rickenbacker International Airport, a parcel at 2201 Route 37 East in Delaware, a development site along U.S. Route 23 in Circleville, and a property at 30 Rathmell Road.
Why Rickenbacker and Delaware Made the List
The London Groveport Road site's location next to Rickenbacker International Airport is no accident. The Columbus Region notes that the airport functions as a major multimodal freight hub, offering access to double-stacked rail intermodals, cargo carriers, and heavy truck traffic near I-70 and I-71 — exactly the kind of commercial corridor RaceTrac has targeted elsewhere. The Delaware property, meanwhile, already has municipal paperwork behind it: Delaware City Council approved a final development plan back in August 2023 for a 6,000-square-foot site on State Route 37 featuring eight passenger fueling islands, five high-flow diesel islands, and 34 parking spaces on 4.6 acres, according to CSP Daily News. That layout was designed as a prototype format equipped to serve small-to-mid-size commercial fleet drivers.
RaceTrac's standard playbook for its non-travel-center stores calls for 1.5 to 2-plus acre tracts, a 5,500-square-foot prototype building, 18 to 24 fueling stations, and round-the-clock operation, per the company's own real estate criteria. The chain's first Ohio store opened in Findlay in December 2024, an 8,100-square-foot travel center along the Interstate 75 and County Road 99 corridor that added roughly 40 local jobs and featured high-flow diesel lanes. That store gave RaceTrac its initial Ohio foothold before the company set its sights on Central Ohio.
Columbus Becomes a Convenience Store Battleground
RaceTrac isn't arriving to an empty market. Sheetz entered the Columbus market in 2021 and has since opened more than 20 area locations, while Wawa broke ground on its first Ohio stores in 2024, according to C-Store Dive. Buc-ee's also has an Ohio presence, adding another Southern chain to a Columbus lineup where major players are competing heavily on fresh hot food, travel amenities, and rewards programs.
That competition is playing out against an industry-wide shift toward proprietary foodservice. According to 2025 consumer research from the National Association of Convenience Stores, 21% of convenience store shoppers purchased a prepared meal or sandwich during their last store visit, underscoring why top convenience retailers increasingly compete directly with quick-service restaurants. RaceTrac's own foodservice ambitions got a significant boost in October when it completed a $566 million all-cash acquisition of Chicago-based Potbelly Corporation, adding more than 445 sandwich shop locations to its corporate portfolio, per GlobeNewswire. Whether Potbelly shops will eventually show up inside or alongside RaceTrac's Ohio travel centers remains an open question.
A Family-Owned Giant With Deep Pockets
RaceTrac's Central Ohio expansion is backed by serious financial muscle. The company is Georgia's second-largest privately held company and is led by CEO Natalie Morhous, a third-generation member of the founding family who took the role in January 2024, according to Atlanta Magazine. Forbes ranks RaceTrac among the top 25 private companies in the United States, with nearly $20 billion in annual revenue. The company's wholesale fuel subsidiary, Metroplex Energy, closed its acquisition of Gulf Oil LLC in December 2023, securing the Gulf brand rights and roughly 1,100 distributor and licensee sites across the United States and Puerto Rico — the largest acquisition in RaceTrac's history, expanding its brand footprint into nearly 40 states.
Exact grand opening dates for the West Jefferson and Canal Winchester stores have not yet been announced, and development timelines for the Delaware, Circleville, and Rathmell Road sites also remain unclear. For now, Central Ohio drivers can expect to see RaceTrac's construction crews at work as the chain works to establish its first foothold in a Columbus market that already counts Sheetz, Wawa, Buc-ee's, and established regional operators among its competitors.
