Byron E. Allumbaugh Elected to The Pantry Board of Directors, Edfred L. Shannon, Jr. Retires from Board.

Business Editors

SANFORD, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 2002

The Pantry, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTRY) today announced that its Board of Directors has elected Byron E. Allumbaugh to serve as Director of the Company.

Commenting on the announcement, Pantry President and Chief Executive Officer Peter J. Sodini said, "Byron is an accomplished business leader and highly regarded retail strategist. The breadth of his retail knowledge, as well as Byron's tenure as a Director of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, bring added depth in both the merchandise and gasoline segments of our business."

Sodini continued, "The Pantry Board offers Ed Shannon its sincere gratitude for his dedicated service. Ed's insight and business acumen have added greatly to our company and his experience and leadership have been invaluable as the Company navigated through challenging crude oil and economic market conditions."

Mr. Allumbaugh is an advisor, consultant and director of numerous businesses and organizations. From 1976 to 1997, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ralphs Grocery Company, a Los Angeles-based retail grocery chain. At the time of his retirement, Ralphs operated 430 stores generating revenues of $5.5 billion. He joined Ralphs in 1958 and held numerous management positions before becoming Chief Operating Officer in 1971 and President and Chief Operating Officer in 1973. Prior to joining Ralphs, he served as Vice President and General Manager of an independent market chain in Orange County, California.

Allumbaugh currently serves on the following boards: Automobile Club of Southern California, CKE Restaurants, Inc., El Paso Corporation, Galyan's Trading Company, Inc. and The Penn Traffic Company. His past directorates include: Campeau Corporation, Federated Department Stores, Inc., Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corporation and Ralphs Grocery Company. He has been a director and officer of several associations including Chairman of the Food Marketing Institute, Chairman of the California Retailers Association and Chairman of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. He is the 1996 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award and received the Sidney R. Rabb Award from the Food Marketing Institute.

Headquartered in Sanford, North Carolina, The Pantry, Inc. is the leading convenience store operator in the southeastern United States and the second largest independently operated convenience store chain in the country. As of December 27, 2001, the Company operated 1,318 stores in ten southeastern states under approximately two dozen banners including The Pantry(R), Handy Way, Lil Champ Food Store(R), Quick Stop, Zip Mart, Kangaroo(R), Fast Lane(R), Big K, Depot and Mini Mart. These stores offer a broad selection of merchandise, gasoline and ancillary services designed to appeal to the convenience needs of its customers.