As Bill Weigel navigates his Toyota Avalon down Tennessee State Highway 131 through Powell, Tenn., he points out landmarks from his boyhood. There is the house where his grandmother lived. Over there is the orchard where he went for an apple to mask the tobacco on his breath from smoking (at age 9) his homemade corncob pipe. And that’s where he boarded the bus and rode to the big city (Knoxville) all by himself before he was even 10 years old.
Owners of convenience stores head to the NACS show every year to find foods, beverages, candies, tobacco products and other goods. This year, dairy processors showed off their wares among the Slim Jims, Monster energy drinks and prepared sandwiches at the 2011 NACS, staged by the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, Alexandria, Va., Oct. 1-4 in Chicago.
