Thorntons Building $28M Support Center

Mayor Greg Fischer, along with officials from Thorntons Inc., the Louisville-based gasoline and convenience chain retailer, broke ground Friday on a new $27.8 million corporate Store Support Center on Old Henry Road in eastern Jefferson County.

The project by Thorntons, a convenience chain retailer that provides fresh foods, beverages and fuel, will eventually create 110 new jobs.

“Louisville has been home to our Store Support Center since the very beginning, and this groundbreaking represents our continued commitment to this great city,” said Matt Thornton, CEO of Thorntons Inc. “This expansion will help us to continue growing our footprint in Kentucky and beyond.”

Thorntons will be relocating from its current 46,000-square-foot facility to a new 92,500-square-foot support center on Old Henry Road.

The company plans to create 28 new jobs in the first year after the expansion and a total of 46 jobs by year two. That number would grow annually until the 110-job goal was reached.

The new jobs are expected to pay an average hourly wage of $40 including employee benefits, according to the filing.

Thorntons was established in 1971. It is a family-owned, privately held company based in Louisville.

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminary approved the company for tax incentives up to $2 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program.