Stuckey’s heiress aims to revive her family’s brand

Stephanie Stuckey, the granddaughter of the man who founded the famous Stuckey’s convenience store chain, recently purchased back her family’s business and wants to return the diminished brand to national prominence.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a profile of Stuckey, who purchased the remaining shares of the Georgia-based Stuckey’s company about 18 months ago. Stephanie Stuckey was a politician and lawyer before becoming the CEO of Stuckey’s.

She said she was disheartened by how much the Stuckey’s name and its stores had declined since the 1970s. Her grandfather, W.S. “Sylvester” Stuckey Sr., founded the company in 1937. It eventually boasted more than 350 stores, including a substantial number along the Route 66 corridor in the Southwest.

The number of stores declined to about 75 and now counts about 115.

While researching on whether to buy back the family business, Stephanie Stuckey said she gained new respect for her ancestors and the American road trip.

“When I bought Stuckey’s a year ago, the first thing I did was change our logo. Its 3-toned fluorescent gaudiness represented everything our brand had become under corporate watch – cheap and ordinary,” Stephanie shared in a social media post.
“I went back to my grandfather’s original logo from his store Unadilla, Georgia, in 1939. I love the elegance of the cursive old-school signature, paired with the temerity of the “T” blasting like a trumpet announcing, “Stop Here!” It represents what I’m trying to build at Stuckey’s: a retro, fun vibe with a scrappy “look at me” edginess.”
To further the company’s business plan, Stephanie and her partner purchased a candy factory in Wrens, Georgia, to take the over production and distribution of Stuckey’s candies and nuts.

She’s also visiting many of the new and surviving Stuckey’s stores and cultivating new revenue sources for the Stuckey’s name:

These days, you can find Stephanie on the road taking to social media to post her admiration for all-things-Americana: vintage signs, gigantic roadside statues now facing extinction, and family-owned and operated businesses.
Along the way, she’ll make a Stuckey’s Stop. […]
These moments give her the push to sharpen her vision: to continue to weave a new narrative for Stuckey’s – The Comeback Brand. To revive the classic road trip. And to elevate the pecan as “America’s Nut.”

Georgia Public Broadcasting recently produced this enjoyable, four-minute segment about Stuckey’s and the comeback bid:

Stuckey wrote this letter on her company’s website, in part:

In a world of quick gas stops and generic experiences, consider us a roadside oasis and a highway heaven destination for delicious candy and pecan confections. Quite frankly, there’s nothing quite like Stuckey’s treats.
As the CEO of Stuckey’s, I aim to continue the legacy started by my grandparents by providing a fun and quality experience for the roadside traveler through our partners at the brick-and-mortar locations, as well as expanding markets for Stuckey’s pecan products via e-commerce and other outlets.
And I make this promise to you, I will work tirelessly to ensure that you enjoy any Stuckey’s product that you try and if you have any concerns I will always listen.
Your friendship – the friendship of every traveler – means a great deal to us.

You can follow Stephanie Stuckey on her often-updated Twitter acount.

(Hat tip to Greg Laxton; images from Stephanie Stuckey’s Twitter account)