ampm (rarely "am/pm") is a convenience store chain with branches located in several U.S. states, including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and in several countries such as Costa Rica and Brazil. The brand pulled out of the Eastern United States in 2012, but returned a decade later. The ampm brand is owned by BP America, Inc., a subsidiary of BP, which acquired its founding owner, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), in 2000. In the United States, the stores are usually attached to an ARCO or BP-branded gas station. The first location opened in Southern California in 1978. History 1978–2007 ampm is owned by a subsidiary of BP, which acquired its founding owner, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), in 2000. The first ampm location opened in Southern California in 1978. The chain would also have a presence in the Northeastern United States at ARCO locations until ARCO spun those operations off into Atlantic Petroleum in 1985, with those stores being rebranded as A-Plus. A-Plus remains owned by Sunoco (which acquired Atlantic in 1988), though all the company-owned stores were sold to 7-Eleven in 2018. The Japanese chain was originally established by Kyodo Oil Company (later Japan Energy) in 1989; many of its stores are located within Kyodo Oil (later JOMO) filling stations. It remained under Japan Energy control until it was sold to Reins International Inc, an operator of Korean-style restaurants in Japan, in 2004. 2008–2011: BP Connect branding In spring 2008, U.S. branches of the BP Connect brand of convenience stores rebranded to ampm, which also brought the brand under the BP banner after exclusively being under the ARCO banner. The decision saw markets with a large BP presence, such as Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Orlando, and Pittsburgh, face rebranding as ampm stores and TV ads. In August 2008, BP announced its decision to sell the majority of its retail operations in the Orlando area to Apopka-based Medallion Convenience Stores. Also in 2008, the Indianapolis stores were sold to Ricker Oil, which began operating them under the BP/Ricker's identity; those stores are now owned and operated by GetGo. The Pittsburgh area stores were sold to 7-Eleven; the stores alongside 7-Eleven's later acquisition of ampm spinoff A-Plus supplemented 7-Eleven's legacy locations in the area usually branded with Exxon or Gulf. The Columbus, Ohio locations were sold to locally-based Duchess Shoppe in 2010. In November 2009, FamilyMart announced its acquisition of am/pm Japan. All ampm