The newspaper ran a story in its March 4 issue about Ramies' situation: he said he needed to sell at least 2,000 gallons of gasoline a day and had been selling around 1,000. With a profit margin of 8 cents a gallon, that means $80 a day, while [image-nocss] a day's wages for an employee is $120, he said.
There was "a 50/50 chance" the station would close, he said.
Volume is now up almost 50%, and customers are coming from Woodside, Ladera and Menlo Park, Ramies told the paper. "I think possibly I can make it if this keeps up," he added.
Since December, the station had lost $30,000 on gasoline sales, and Ramies said he had made up the difference with revenues from his auto-repair and metal-fabrication businesses.
The troubles began December 10, when his wholesale price started rising between 8 and 32 cents per gallon above what brand-name stations pay, he said.
This "inverted market" is due to several factors, Mark S. Mitchell, president of Coast Oil Co., a San Jose-based supplier for independent stations, told the Almanac, including a tight supply coming out of California refineries, the branded companies muscling in to buy up what gasoline there is, and the state's gasoline formulation, "the most stringent in the world."
The costs of complying with environmental laws have "tripled in the last five years," Mitchell added. "All independent stations are suffering."
Ramies is trying discounts- 45 cents off for paying with a debit card, for example-and buyers of at least 200 gallons get a free oil change and alignment check.
He installed new toilets three months ago. Bike riders like them, and Ramies said he asks that they "spend a buck for a bottle of water," but not enough do. "That's what I want to do," he noted, "is clean that bathroom for half an hour for nothing."
He is also facing an April 1 state deadline to upgrade the station's vapor-recovery system at a cost of about $50,000 that would also require shutting down the gasoline dispensers for three days, said the report. Raimes said the bids are rising because he's "a captive audience."
"I would do it if I knew I was going to get continuing support," he said.
Ramies bought out his partner at the station in May 2008, and switched from Texaco brand to independent to "take away the stigma of high prices." But being unbranded has drawbacks among his occasional customers. One lady, he said, explained that she buys branded gas in Ladera because she gets "way better gas mileage."
He could give in and become a franchise again and let the parent company set prices. "I do have that option, but do I want that hand to be on top of me, telling me what to do?," he asked. "That's kind of a nightmare, being controlled by a big oil company. I'm a competitive guy. I'm really trying to help Portola Valley."
To that end, said the report, he has installed a backup generator that keep pumps running during power outages so residents can run their generators. They need to understand, he said, what they've got before they lose it. "If it goes, it's done," he said. "I'm teeter tottering with this gasoline thing. The public-service thing only goes so far."
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