News & Insights


May 20, 2025 | Insights

Why Convenience Stores Will Win The Fast Food Battle

When I was little, my grandmother taught me how to make a quality cup of coffee. She’d put the percolator on the stove, and I’d hear the familiar bubbling sound that meant she and my grandfather would have coffee soon. I loved the ritualistic aspect of sitting at the table with our cups and saucers…

read more


January 21, 2025 | Press Releases

LV Petroleum Successfully Completes Acquisition of Multi-Site Travel Center Portfolio

Las Vegas, NV – Downstream Energy Group (“DEG”), a leading advisory firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions, is pleased to announce that it acted as the exclusive M&A advisor in the successful acquisition of a multi-site travel center portfolio.  The transaction, encompassing two strategically located travel centers in the mid-continent region, represents a significant transaction…

read more


January 15, 2025 | Press Releases

DEG Announces Sale of Eight Retail Sites to Casey’s General Stores

LEXINGTON, KY – Downstream Energy Group (“DEG”) is proud to announce its role as the exclusive advisor in the successful sale of Wow! Foodmart LLC (“Company”) and its affiliated retail portfolio to Casey’s General Stores. The transaction includes a diverse portfolio of properties comprising one travel center, seven convenience stores, and four liquor stores, all…

read more


October 15, 2024 | Insights

Fueling the Future: How Three Generations of Griffins Lead the Energy Industry

By Steve Griffin, Partner Downstream Energy Group (DEG) and our newest company, Downstream Energy Properties (DEP), are legacy companies born from the ideals of original founders, Ruben and Ginny Griffin. A lot has changed in three generations, but the Griffin standard of “doing business the right way” has remained the cornerstone of every Griffin company….

read more


August 6, 2024 | Insights

A Brief Account of the Beginning of Gas Stations and Convenience Stores

By Sutton Wester, Senior Associate North of Chouteau on Theresa Avenue in St. Louis: the birthplace of the gas station. In 1905, Harry Grenner and Clem Laessig opened the first drive-in filling station for motorists, consisting of a gravity-fed tank with what looked like a rudimentary garden hose attached to its base.1 When a customer drove…

read more