UtoteM
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
UtoteM, also spelled U-tote-M or U Totem, was a chain of convenience stores which operated until 1984, primarily in the southwestern United States.
The chain experienced most of its growth under the leadership of LeRoy Melcher (1912-1999), who acquired the the chain in 1950 and became its president in 1953. Melcher expanded UtoteM from ten stores to more than one thousand across thirteen states. UtoteM merged with Fairmont Foods in the late 1960s. In 1983, the Circle K Corporation bought all of the stock of Utotem Inc. for 225 million dollars from American Financial Corporation, and in 1984 rebranded the stores as Circle K stores.
