Parker’s Kitchen, a convenience store and food chain in Georgia and South Carolina, held a ribbon-cutting on Tuesday at its first Aiken store. This new store is located at 140 Jefferson Davis Highway.
Founder and CEO Greg Parker said there are plans to open nine stores across the CSRA this year, with more to come in the future.
“It’s such a fast-growing part of the Southeast,” he said.
Parker also presented an inaugural Fueling the Community check of $5,000 to benefit Aiken County Public Schools. A portion of the proceeds of gas sold at every Parker’s Kitchen on the first Wednesday of each month benefits local schools.
Corey Murphy, the Aiken County Public School District’s upcoming superintendent, received the honorary check, and said that he used to visit Parker’s Kitchen in Beaufort where he grew up.
“They’re very much known as a friend of education,” said Murphy. “They’re known for excellence, good quality … we’re just excited that they’re coming here and also going to be contributing to education in the county.”
“We believe in education … we want to have a touchpoint in every community where we have a store,” said Parker. “We don’t want to just take from the community, we want to give back to every community where we do business.”
Since the inception of the Fueling the Community Program in 2011, Parker’s has donated more than $2 million to public and private schools across South Carolina and Georgia. The company has donated more than $30 million over the past eight years to local causes and is currently conducting a round-up campaign to support local injured veterans, with proceeds benefiting Wounded Warrior Project.
Jessica Pineda, a member of the 2024 Aiken Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Team called the new store “a nice place for people to shop and also know that their money is not only for profit but also for giving back to the community.”
Parker’s Kitchen has been named the Convenience Store Chain of the Year by Convenience Store Decisions. It has also been voted the No. 4 Best Gas Station for Food and the No. 6 Best Gas Station Brand in America by USA TODAY readers. The company was honored by Food and Wine as one of America’s Best Convenience Stores and by Convenience Store News as the Convenience Foodservice Leader of the Year.
Parker noted that one of the company’s goals is to be an ideal workplace.
“We know we want to be the best place to work in America,” he said.
