The new owner of Swiss Farm Stores, a Delco fixture selling dairy, groceries, and convenience goods almost as long as cross-county rival Wawa, is planning new stores with gas pumps in Delaware, Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Bucks Counties.
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“We were neck and neck with Wawa, then they went into gas in 1996, and it revolutionized their business,” said Arsh Pola, a Drexel University graduate and gas station and convenience store operator, who bought the chain in stages after starting talks in 2022.
“It’s a beautiful business,” Pola said. Serving through drive-up windows from posted menus of hot and cold foods andpantry items, “we have a different customer from other stores: mom. We are serving local families milk and the things that built a cult following. We will add more of the right things.”
Pola’s vision to update Swiss Farm, which started in 1968, is fuel and an expanded menu.
Adding gas to a drive-up chain might not be a long jump for Pola, who owns gas stations, stores, and apartments in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
The North Penn High School alumnus jokes that his retail focus in a family of professionals — engineer, pharmacist, dentist — makes him “a black sheep” but also tracks with his Gujarati immigrant grandfather, a teacher who saved his pay to buy a New England convenience store.
Pola began negotiating to buy Swiss Farm franchises in 2022, two years after Florida-based Farm Stores bought the company from Radnor-based MVP Capital and other investors.
Earlier owners tried and failed to grow Swiss Farms beyond Delaware County. When Pola realized the Delco-area franchises were the only stores still open, he bought one after another, starting in 2024, and then the parent company. He was financed by regional banks that also backed his gas station deals. The purchase closed June 30.
His plans rely on execution by Swiss Farm veterans, topped by Chris Gray, who worked 25 years at the company and rose to CEO before MVP let him go. Pola, now CEO, brought Gray back as chief operating officer.
Pola agreed to detail his plans for Swiss Farms to The Inquirer in interviews at the Broomall and Drexel Hill stores.
How did you get into retail?
When I was studying finance at Drexel [graduated 2019], I had the dream of working at Goldman Sachs. I became the youngest co-op at Goldman Sachs. And they quickly told me, ‘You get along really well with the clients.’
I started buying gas stations while I was still a student. I took Warren Buffett’s advice: ‘Buy something with a moat around it.’ Gas stations have a very strong customer cash flow that’s recession-proof.
I started with a former Liberty, up at Ridge and Manatawna. I wanted my own brand on the store. I called it Posh [with a crown over the P]. I ended up doing Marathons and Lukoils. I still have a few stations in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
How could you afford to buy Swiss Farms?
Each gas station required a million-dollar investment. So I wanted to do a portfolio deal [buy several at once]. Everything was financed from the banks that knew me. They do 20-year mortgages.
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I told Farm Stores, ‘You guys are 1,500 miles away. Let me buy it all.’
What are the first few things you will add or take away?
The stores need a facelift. We won’t take away the silos, but [we’ll give them] a fresh look.
And the stores need more employees. In-N-Out doubled their payroll, and sales went up three or four times over.
We always had employees in these black shirts. Now we’ve added six new colors, make it fun for the staff.
We just did an event with [former Eagle] Brian Dawkins. Everyone on his staff knew Swiss Farms and loves us.
How can you compete with large chains like Wawa and 7-Eleven that can purchase gas and food in bulk at lower costs?
I’m already in the gasoline business. I buy on the open market every day. I buy from the same [fuel suppliers] that sell to BJ’s and Sunoco. We are going to price gas the most aggressively we can.
Some costs you can cut. Swiss Farms had a consultant negotiating what were supposed to be the best trash rates. We cut that.
Kathy Strimmel, who runs the Drexel Hill store, says she’s a longtime customer, who’s now been working there for a year. Is it hard to find people to work your stores?
It’s difficult to find quality talent. People don’t all have the same drive, or loyalty. We start at $10 to $12 an hour.
Your milk costs maybe a dollar more a gallon than the store down the street, why?
It’s good milk! People don’t say, ‘Can I get a gallon of whole milk?’ They say, ‘Can I get Swiss Vitamin D?’ And we share the cost for getting it into your car.
We do have the best prices on our iced teas. I don’t know why, but Delaware County has a reputation as the best iced-tea market in the country.
How many new stores are you planning?
Twenty-five in the next five years. We will find locations here in Delaware County, and we will enter Philadelphia, Montgomery County, and Bucks County. After that, we will grow organically, state by state, where it makes sense.
I respect Wawa. [Wawa CEO] Chris Gheysens said, ‘It took 60 years for us to get into six states; it’ll take six years to get into the rest.’”
Wawa has closed several of its Philadelphia stores. How can Swiss Farms make the city work if Wawa can’t?
You have to choose locations very wisely. I have gas stations in Philadelphia. I know how to do that.
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