United Dairy Farmers (UDF), the family-owned Ohio convenience chain with 170 stores, has named the six stores where it plans to add DC fast chargers with federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funds. They will be the company's first DC fast chargers. UDF applied for NEVI funding at six locations in Greater Cincinnati and Columbus and was awarded all six, Electrek reported on October 7. All six sites are funded and planned. None is open yet, and UDF expects openings to begin in early 2027.
The awards come from the Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODOT) latest NEVI round, which named UDF among its selected developers in April.
The six sites
| City | Address | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Hilliard | 5171 Riggins Rd | Awarded; planned |
| Lebanon | 890 Columbus Ave | Awarded; planned |
| Mason | 5261 Kings Mills Rd | Awarded; planned |
| Maineville | 6643 OH-48 | Awarded; planned |
| Cincinnati | 11610 Lebanon Rd | Awarded; planned |
| Cincinnati | 5275 Beechmont Ave | Awarded; planned |
The six are among UDF's newest stores, which offer food, indoor and outdoor seating and Wi-Fi. UDF has not yet disclosed charging speeds, connector types, port counts or prices for the sites. Electrek wrote that the chain will likely use 400-kilowatt chargers from Electric Era to meet Ohio's NEVI guidelines; that is the outlet's expectation rather than a UDF announcement. Electric Era's systems pair grid power with onsite batteries to reduce peak demand, which lets them run at sites where grid capacity is limited.
Drivers will be able to redeem credits from UDF's U-Drive Plus loyalty program toward charging and earn more credits through qualifying store purchases.
"We've always believed UDF should evolve alongside our guests, and this is another step in doing that," Jim Dwenger, UDF's head of retail, said in remarks published by Electrek.
The funding round behind the awards
ODOT announced the round on April 10, 2026, selecting 64 sites for new fast-charging stations and committing $51 million in federal NEVI funds to the developers that will build and operate them. The selected companies are adding more than $26 million of their own money, according to Electrek's April 16 coverage of the round.
The state set baseline requirements for every site. Each must have at least four fast-charging ports rated at 150 kilowatts each, plus access to restrooms and food. The sites sit at businesses across the state, including travel centers, grocery stores, retail sites and convenience stores.
UDF shares the selection list with national and regional companies: Aldi, BP Products North America, Francis Energy Charging, Heartland Charging Service, Love's Travel Stops, Mid Cour EV Charging Solutions, Pilot Travel Centers, Red E Charging, Sheetz and Tesla.
The round adds to a network already in service. When the awards were announced in April, 19 NEVI stations were online in Ohio, with 12 more expected to be built in 2026. The Federal Highway Administration has certified Ohio's alternative fuel corridor network as fully built out, which gives the state more flexibility to use NEVI money away from those corridors.
What happens next
An award is not a finished station. In April, ODOT said it expected construction across the round to begin in early 2027, with many of the stations slated to open by the end of 2027. UDF's own target is for its openings to start in early 2027, and the company says it will announce an opening date for each charger site individually. As of October 20, 2026, those openings remain targets rather than set dates.
UDF has not committed to chargers beyond the six awarded stores. The chain says demand and customer feedback will shape what any expansion looks like.
What It Means for Drivers
Drivers cannot charge at any of these six stores yet. Around Columbus, the site to watch is the Hilliard store on Riggins Road. In Greater Cincinnati, the stores are in Lebanon, Mason and Maineville and at two Cincinnati addresses, on Lebanon Road and Beechmont Avenue.
Whether a given car can plug in without an adapter depends on connectors UDF has not yet named. Watch for each store's individual opening announcement from UDF, and check the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator once a site is listed.
U-Drive Plus members will be able to put loyalty credits toward a charging session, and store purchases during a stop can earn more credits. UDF has not said how many credits a session will take, so members should check the program's terms once charging launches.
Sources
- Ice cream and EV fast charging? United Dairy Farmers is bringing both to Ohio — Electrek, October 7, 2026
- ODOT selects 64 new sites for EV charging stations — Spectrum News 1, April 10, 2026
- Ohio drops $51M on 64 new EV charging sites – here's where they'll go — Electrek, April 16, 2026
- Alternative Fuels Data Center Station Locator — U.S. Department of Energy
