Thorntons Inc., also known as Thorntons Oil Company, is a gasoline business located in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1971 by James H. Thornton.[1]
A 1946 graduate of New Albany High School, Thornton first gained entry into the gasoline industry working at a station owned by his stepfather. In 1951 at the age of 24 he became one of the partners of the Dixie Dance gas stations. Thornton eventually joined Ashland Inc. in 1955, maintaining a relation with them until 1970. The next year he started the Thornton Oil Corporation, and by 1973 had forty stations.[1]
Under the direction of Paul Perconti in the 1980s, Thornton's grew exponentially, being among the first to add ATMs and fast food chains into its gasoline stations (Dunkin' Donuts and Subway in particular), as well as placing canopies above its pumps and allowing customers to pay for their gas at the pump using credit cards.[1]
In 1998 Perconti left the company after embezzlement charges were cast upon him.[1]
By 1999 there were more than 150 stations in six states; most were centered around Louisville.[1] As of 2010 Thornton's is claiming 161 locations in six states, although its map depicts only five states: Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Tennessee.[2]
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