The Pantry Names Keith Bell Senior Vice President - Fuels

Mr. Bell is an 18-year veteran of BP p.l.c. and Amoco Corp., whichwas acquired by BP in 1998. During his career at BP and Amoco, heprogressed through a variety of sales and marketing positions, andmost recently was Vice President in charge of BP's entire U.S. brandedjobber business. Over the years, he successfully managed projects inareas as diverse as SAP implementation, brand management andreimaging, E-Business, and regional pricing and gross marginoptimization. Mr. Bell began his career in sales with XeroxCorporation. He received his B.A. degree from the University ofRochester.

Peter J. Sodini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ThePantry, said, "We are very pleased to welcome Keith to The Pantry'smanagement team. In light of the significant growth we have achievedover the last few years, we came to the conclusion that we needed adedicated senior executive to manage all of our fuel-relatedoperations and industry relationships. Keith's broad experiencetouching on so many different aspects of the wholesale and retail fuelbusinesses made him an ideal candidate for this new position."

About The Pantry

Headquartered in Sanford, North Carolina, The Pantry, Inc. is theleading independently operated convenience store chain in thesoutheastern United States and one of the largest independentlyoperated convenience store chains in the country, with net sales forfiscal 2005 of approximately $4.4 billion. As of June 29, 2006, theCompany operated 1,499 stores in eleven states under select bannersincluding Kangaroo Express(SM), our primary operating banner. ThePantry's stores offer a broad selection of merchandise, as well asgasoline and other ancillary services designed to appeal to theconvenience needs of its customers.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements made by the Company in this press release relating tofuture plans, events, or financial performance are "forward-lookingstatements" within the meaning of the Private Securities LitigationReform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on theCompany's current plans and expectations and involve a number of risksand uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to varymaterially from the results and events anticipated or implied by suchforward-looking statements. Any number of factors could affect actualresults and events, including, without limitation: the ability of theCompany to take advantage of expected synergies in connection withacquisitions; the actual operating results of stores acquired; theability of the Company to integrate acquisitions into its operations;fluctuations in domestic and global petroleum and gasoline markets;changes in the competitive landscape of the convenience storeindustry, including gasoline stations and other non-traditionalretailers located in the Company's markets; the effect of national andregional economic conditions on the convenience store industry and themarkets we serve; the effect of regional weather conditions oncustomer traffic; financial difficulties of suppliers, including ourprincipal suppliers of gas and merchandise, and their ability tocontinue to supply our stores; environmental risks associated withselling petroleum products; governmental regulations, including thoseregulating the environment; and acts of war or terrorist activity.These and other risk factors are discussed in the Company's AnnualReport on Form 10-K and in its other filings with the Securities andExchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statementsincluded in this press release are based on the Company's estimatesand plans as of July 20, 2006. While the Company may elect to updatethese forward-looking statements at some point in the future, itspecifically disclaims any obligation to do so.