It seemed like it was almost overnight that the Circle K stores appeared. Described by one Northern Minnesota resident as just popping up out of nowhere, at the same time the familiarity of Holiday Stationstores began to vanish.
Back in 2017, Holiday was acquired by Alimentation Couche-Tard and became part of the Circle K family, and now in early 2025, some Holiday Stationstores in the Northland are receiving a red and yellow Circle K makeover.
Holiday began as a family business in 1939, with the first station store opened in Lindstrom, Minnesota by brothers Arthur and Alfred Erickson. Before Couche-Tard’s acquisition, Holiday had become the 18th largest convenience store chain in the United States, and ranked 133rd on Forbes’ list of largest American private companies.
In February, Mike’s Holiday in Grand Marais was rebranded as a Circle K following the expiration of a five year contract allowing the gas station to keep its original Holiday branding. By March, Holiday Stationstores in Beaver Bay and Two Harbors followed suit. The operation of the gas stations and items available inside the stores are to remain the same, with the only changes done to the branding of the chain.
Now, when driving on the North Shore, you are greeted by Circle K’s bright colors instead of the previous red, white, and blue familiar rocketship, and someday you might say to each other, “Remember when that was a Holiday?”.
