Sarah Van Buskirk
Editorial Director
Circle K convenience store, on D Street adjacent to the University of La Verne, is under new ownership as of Wednesday and rebranded to Beverage House Liquor, no longer providing a 24-hour convenience store to the La Verne Community.
All Circle K locations that are not connected to gas stations are changing ownership. Similar to the Circle K, now Korner Store, located on 301 East Bonita Ave. in San Dimas, which changed ownership in 2022.
The La Verne store closed on Wednesday, and it reopens on Friday. The new store will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight as Beverage House Liquor – with a new look.
A recent informal survey conducted among University of La Verne students and local residents found that 37 out of 43 surveyed are sad to see Circle K go.
Ayesha Faruki, senior kinesiology major, said that specifically during her organic chemistry cramming study session, she and a group of classmates would go to Circle K and get so many snacks at odd times of the night to help them stay up.
“Circle K was the perfect place to refuel in the middle of the night during a study session,” Faruki said. “Which is why I think it is so necessary for college students to have that late night option.”
The bright Polar Pop signs and welcoming coffee signs were removed as well as any Circle K brand snacks. Larger brands like Takis and Quaker now have bigger displays and a variety of snacks.
“I will miss the ‘Sip & Save’ deal Circle K has where you pay $10 and get a free drink every day for a month,” said John Niccoli, senior social science major.
Niccoli said he would go to Circle K twice a week to get his morning coffee before class, and will miss those college memories.
Circle K branded hot food on rotating racks or cold food in refrigerators will no longer be available.
The completely remodeled Beverage House Liquor will have a plethora of drinks as well as an expansion of hard liquor and a walk in beer fridge.
According to former Circle K employees, those who wanted to keep their job at that location or be transferred to another location, went through an interview process with the new owners and the decision was then up to Beverage House Liquor’s management on whether or not the employees stay employed at that location or are transferred to another Circle K location.
George Felton, a former Circle K employee, said the new ownership will bring change to the University.
“I think it is for the better,” Felton said “There are plenty of bars around here so it will make it feel more like a natural college environment.”
Faruki also said that the Circle K employees were always so welcoming to students and really created a bond with the students.
“From me going in and out, I became friends with them and started talking about our lives,” Faruki said. “Then it became if I had a free night they would text me saying come to Circle K.”
Faruki said one night she was hanging with one of the former employees on their break and another former employee came to hang out and brought Nerf guns.
“We would have Nerf gun battles in the Circle K parking lot at midnight,” Faruki said. “It was so chill because sometimes the La Verne police would drive by and they would just let us have fun.”
Many students said that Circle K was a big part of their college experience at the University of La Verne and will cherish those memories post graduation but some residents have a different point of view.
La Verne resident Kim Noyes said she is not happy about his ownership change.
Noyes has two daughters that go to Bonita High School only nine short blocks away, and said she is not looking forward to the kinds of people it will bring.
“I don’t want my daughters hanging out with crazy people at a liquor store,” Noyes said.
Sarah Van Buskirk can be reached at sarah.vanbuskirk@laverne.edu.
Sarah Van Buskirk is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print and online journalism. She is the Spring 2024 editorial director for the Campus Times and has recently served as editor-in-chief, sports editor and staff writer. She is also currently a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine, and a staff writer for La Verne Magazine.
