Clark Brands, formerly Clark Oil, began as Clark's Super Gas and was a 20th-century

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

company headquartered in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

History

Founded by

Emory T. Clark Emory T. Clark (September 17, 1905 – February 27, 1984) was an Americans, American businessman. Biography Emory Clark was born on September 17, 1905, in Waycross, Georgia. In the 1920s, he moved to Gary, Indiana, and later Chicago, Illinois, with ...

in 1932 as a single filling station on the corner of 60th St. and Greenfield Ave. in

West Allis, Wisconsin West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census. History The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...

, Clark Super Gas sold only premium gasoline. Unlike most contemporary service stations, Clark stations did not offer mechanical maintenance and tire changing. In 1943, the company moved into refining oil. By the mid-1950s, the company operated nearly 500 gas stations throughout the Midwest, with locations in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. From 1948 to 1950, Clark Super Gas sponsored the Milwaukee Clarks, a minor league

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team in the International Hockey League. Clark in Prescott

At its height in the 1970s, Clark Oil was the largest independent oil refiner and marketer in the Midwest with 1,489 stations and two refineries, one in

Blue Island, Illinois Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,55 ...

and the other in

Hartford, Illinois Hartford is a village in Madison County, Illinois, Madison County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near the mouth of the Missouri River. The population was 1,429 at the 2010 census. Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1803-1804 t ...

. The average Clark station sold twice the number of gallons as the national average, and its emphasis on premium gasoline gave the company a high profit margin. Emory Clark sold his interest in the company in 1981 to Apex Oil, a

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

–based company. In 1985, Apex decided to sell Clark Oil. By 1987, Clark and Apex were bankrupt. In 1992, a division of Toronto-based Horsham Corp. bought Clark Oil and Refining, which included the two refineries and around 1,000 gas stations. The company's name was changed to Clark Refining and Marketing. Horsham expanded the company, buying a Lima, Ohio refinery from BP, and a Port Arthur, Texas refinery from

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. Horsham became TrizecHahn, and then sold 80% of Clark to The

Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...

, another investment firm, and another portion to Occidental Petroleum. In 1999, the company sold its retail unit and rebranded itself as Premcor. In 2001, many Clark stations in southeast

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

were closed permanently. In 2003, Clark Brands, LLC was formed and purchased the Clark brand and other portions of the Clark business, with a primary goal to license the Clark brand to independent operators. Clark gas stations are now operating throughout 32 states, with over 1000-branded locations, some with

convenience stores A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticke ...

under the On the Go name. In 2013 Clark Brands acquired the brand licensing business of

Crown Central Petroleum Crown Central Petroleum, commonly known as Crown, is an American oil company that has flourished in Baltimore since the early 20th century until its recent decline due to rebranding. History Crown Central Petroleum Company or Crown, first began ...

References

{{Convenience stores Companies based in Naperville, Illinois Companies based in Milwaukee Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois Economy of the Midwestern United States Economy of the Southeastern United States Economy of the Southwestern United States Oil companies of the United States Gas stations in the United States Clark Oil Retail companies established in 1932 Energy companies established in 1932 1932 establishments in Wisconsin