WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. -- Quick Chek has installed and is testing self-checkout lanes equipped with note and coin recycling capabilities at its Phillipsburg, N.J., store, which the retailer says is a first for the c-store industry.

Partnering with NCR, the company's Quick Chek Fast Lanes, which began operating in the store August 26, are designed to enhance Quick Chek's customer service abilities by offering customers a second purchasing option and opportunity to speed up their checkout process during peak store periods.

PALOS VERDES, Calif. -- Fearing an energy policy that would curtail market forces and put the United States at a global disadvantage, an executive with one of the East Coast's largest petroleum marketing and convenience chains advised that preparing for multiple options and creating diversity among resources would be more prudent strategies. Addressing about 400 attendees at CSP's 2009 Outlook Leadership conference, Joe Petrowski, CEO of Cumberland Gulf Group, scrutinized everything from carbon credits to limiting offshore drilling, calling for lawmakers to focus on the development of low-priced energy resources.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. -- In reopening the Space Station gas station and convenience store in downtown Steamboat Springs, Colo., Eric and Jodi Dorris are taking their cues from the sign out front, reported The Steamboat Pilot & Today. The red-and-white "Space Race"-era sign is topped with a spherical "satellite" and is the most recognized feature of the property. The sign is about 50 years old and was prompted by the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik in 1956 and has survived two remodelings of the property.