A big change is taking place today among the Irving Oil convenience stores around Maine, but you probably won't even notice the difference.

As of midnight, all of Maine's Blue Canoe, Maineway and Big Stop convenience stores went under new management with a deal leasing 252 of the stores to Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. of Laval, Quebec.

Irving will continue to supply petroleum products to the sites, and the fuel pumps and canopies will remain Irving-branded. The stores, though, will operate under Couche-Tard's Circle K brand.

The change will mean some layoffs, said lars Trodson, spokesman for Irving.

"But 97 percent of people are retaining their jobs," he said.

Otherwise, there won't be much noticeable difference in and among the stores, he said. The current promotions, most importantly the gas-discount program Irving has with Shaw's Supermarkets and Dunkin' Donuts, will not be affected.