OAK BROOK, Ill. -- U.S. gas stations are having a hard time making a profit in the face of higher costs of purchasing gasoline, credit-card expenses, consumers who are bargain shopping like never before and for other reasons such as outdated pumps that cost too much to upgrade. Unable to make the kind of profits that were common years ago, 3,184 of the nation's 164,292 gas stations went out of business last year, according to a recent Business Week report, and more are expected to close this year. But many new stations and stores have opened, as well, despite the less-than-friendly economic [image-nocss] environment. CSP Daily News presents another installment of "Open & Shut," a digest of mostly independently owned locations that have opened for business or closed their doors in the last couple of months.
Meanwhile, other retailers are shutting down their gasoline dispensers and attempting to go it "solo" as convenience stores. (Click here to read recent coverage.)FloridaFast Track Food Stores has completed the construction of a travel center at the Interstate 10 exit at SR 53 in Madison, the company announced. The center, designed and built by Maritta, Ga.-based MRP Design Group, has more than 14,000 square feet of space. There are separate fueling facilities for automobiles and tractor-trailers and a food court with restaurants that include Dairy Queen, Wendy's and Subway, reported The Democrat. Jennifer Fowler, director of business development for MRP, said the owners intended for the dining facilities to appeal to travelers, but also to Madison County residents. "They wanted to have the food court cater to the local crowd," she added. Truck and commercial vehicle operators will have such amenities as a travel store, showers, laundry, a truckers' lounge and a game room.
A BP station in Tallahassee closed in mid-June, The Tallahassee Democrat said. George Unglaub, who owned it for more than 25 years, said it was another victim of the changing nature of gas stations. Gasoline is practically a loss leader, he said. And "you've got to have the big lots; corner gas stations just don't have the room." Unglaub, who has owned seven BP stations in Tallahassee, sold them two years ago, but still serves as manager for the new company. "The business has completely changed. A way of life is going."
IndianaTwo Village Pantry c-stores in Muncie near the Ball State University campus closed in late June, reported The Star Press. A third Village Pantry in the area will remain open. Marsh Supermarkets, purchased in 2006 by Sun Capital, spun off its Village Pantry division in 2007. After the Sun Capital purchase, the company closed a handful of Marsh Supermarket and Village Pantry locations in East Central Indiana. Village Pantry recently bought some additional c-stores in northern Indiana to increase the chain's presence there.Since the late 1950s, Muncie-based G&G Oil has been in the petroleum business, distributing Shell and Marathon gasolines. The company was been best known for its Hoosier Pete retail stores. But sometime in the past few months, G&G got out of local gasoline retail sales, said The Star Press. The company sold Hoosier Pete locations to Eskay Oil, Indianapolis. G&G continues to sell gasoline to retailers.MainePDQ Convenience Store in Rockland reopened in early July as Kaler's Korner Market, the new owners, Mark and Maria Wilkinson, told Maine Coast Now. They bought the now closed store for $525,000 at an auction held on the premises. This is the fourth c-store in the area that the couple has owned. They sold Tolman Pond Market in Rockport last year. They also had owned Townline Market in Rockland and the Waterfront Market in Thomaston. They are adding a deli to the renamed store. The previous owners were Elizabeth and Anthony Seccareccio, who opened the 2,000-square-foot store in May 2006 before closing it in February 2008.
MassachusettsAfter 49 years of business, the fuel tanks at a Mobil station in Boston were filled one final time late last week, and the station will be closed when it is gone, said The Boston Globe. The 5,000-square-foot shop is too quaint for Mobil to keep, said Leo Pagano, 67, one of two brothers who own the station. The company decided not to renew its contract. "Now, I guess, you need to have 20,000 or 30,000 [square feet] at least," he said. The station doesn't have a c-store. Pagano also manages the private parking lot next to the station, which charges a day rate of $20. He will stick to that for now, he said.
More than a year after the Mobil station in Amesbury closed, motorists will once again have another place to fill their tanks, said The Daily News of Newburyport. Charles Mabardy, the owner of Mabardy Oil Inc., has signed a lease for the property and will open a Sunoco station on the site. Mabardy owns two other Sunoco stations, in Salisbury and Seabrook.
After nearly 50 years in business, Gaskell's Service Station in Mendon closed earlier this month and has been put up for sale, a result of escalating fuel prices, the owners told The Milford Daily News. "Business is lousy," said Dave Gaskell. "The price of gas is killing everyone." The station opened in June 1958. It closed as a Shell station, but had also been a Gulf, a CITGO and a Texaco. "We had a lot of good years," said Gaskell, 75. "The last 3 or 4 have been very tough." Gaskell had thoughts of closing down for the last few years. He had ordered 9,500 gallons of gasoline last week but canceled the load Friday. It would have cost $45,000. "I didn't know how we were going to pay for it," he said. "That was the end of it." Gaskell's son, David, said the feeling is bittersweet. "You can't survive selling fuel anymore," he said. "It was good back in the late 1990s. You can't compete anymore. I can't afford to pay help and I can't be here 13 hours a day."
Work began in May to open a Christy's Market in North Harwich. Christy Mihos, owner of Christy's of Cape Cod also is planning a new store in downtown Chatham. He confirmed for The Cape Cod Chronicle that he has a purchase and sales agreement on three lots, and plans are taking shape to locate a store there. The plan, Mihos said, is to construct a 2,800-square-foot building and provide gasoline service. "You can't make it without gasoline," he said. Mihos said there is no particular prototype building for a Christy's Market. Each town, he said, has its own standards, so there is a patchwork of stores, although the chain likes to work with a typical Colonial-looking building.MichiganAbout a month ago, In mid-May, Alaa "Al" Dakki and his brother, Akeel, opened Clio Mart & Gas, a BP fuel station in Clio, Mich., reported The Clio Messenger. The store sells beer and wine, food, snacks, household odds and ends and also has a deli. In the future, the Dakki brothers hope to remodel the kitchen to sell pizza, fried chicken, homemade bread and cookies. Previously, they owned a station north of Imlay City, for about seven years. They bought this business last year and just recently opened it after remodeling.
The opening of the Whiteford facility in December 2008 will introduce a great new look to Ogden, Utah-based Flying J's network. The inside will have a fresh new atmosphere and maintain the high quality services and products that Flying J continues to offer its guests. Flying J will be introducing their new quick-service food outlet called La Pasteria, where guests will be able to enjoy made-to-order pasta. La Pasteria will offer a variety of vegetables, sauces and meats that can be combined and tossed with penne or fettuccini noodles. The Country Market Restaurant & Buffet will seat 145 people and the Pepperoni's Pizza will also be available. The new plaza will offer drivers 15 showers, a game room, J-Scales, Scan & Go, an ATM, the Country Market store and parking for 200 trucks and trailers.
State Treasury employees clearing the shelves of an independent BP station owned by Gurcharan Multani in Grand Rapids in late May. The seized property will be sold to pay back taxes, which shut down the operation, Grand Rapids Treasurer Albert Mooney told The Grand Rapids Press. "There is some refinancing under way. Once it's complete, they hope to reopen the store," said Mooney, who has been in contact with the owner's attorney and state treasury officials. Property records show Multani owns the property for the station, and he is listed as the "resident agent" of Super Petroleum Inc., which owns the business. He has the same role for Dutton Fuel Mart LLC, which owns another station.MinnesotaOne of Ogden, Utah-based Flying J's newest travel plazas will be located in Albert Lea. Slated to open in December 2008, it will offer a Country Market Restaurant & Buffet with seating for 130 people. It will also feature a Pepperoni's Pizza and the Cross Roads Deli. Drivers will enjoy nine private showers, a game room, financial services, propane, J-Scales, Scan & Go, an ATM and parking for 159 tractor trailers.
MontanaThe closing of the Albertsons in downtown Great Falls is prompting another store to open, reported KPAX-TV. After failing to purchase the grocery store location, c-store operator David Keith is opening a store nearby that will sell tobacco, snacks, soda and specialty coffee drinks. It will be open seven days a week.
New YorkStewart's Shopsrecently broke ground onthe site that will be home toa new c-store in Guilderland, N.Y. The shopwill offer gasoline with pay-at-the-pump services, and there will also be an ATM. Stewart's is anticipating the shop to be openby late August, the Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-based company said.Buffalo-based Wilson Farms re-opened a remodeled c-store in Middleport, N.Y., in mid-May. The new store now includes a full-service deli, Red Box video rental, an expanded produce selection, a made-to-order Sub Shoppe, hand-scooped Perry’s ice cream flavors and an overall increase in product variety.
OhioAfter nearly 40 years, the Duke Travel Plaza or Buckeye Lake Truck Stop closed in mid-June, said The Zanesville Times Recorder. There will be little to no job loss associated with the closing. Ed Stephens, vice president of Englefield Oil, which owns the truckstop, said, "Most [of the employees] are going to other convenience stores in Licking County and a couple are coming down to our warehouse in Heath." Stephens said several factors have prompted the closure, including a decline in trucking, a main source of business for the Duke and Duchess truckstops, he said. "As the economy slows down, the truckers slow down. They buy less gas, they buy less in the store and they buy less in the restaurant." Although the main truckstop and c-store will close, another c-store next to the Taco Bell will remain open and continue to sell gas. The McDonald's, Taco Bell, motel and semi repair garage, which are independently operated, will all remain open. Stephens said future plans have not been solidified, and he could not say if the property would be sold. Buckeye Lake Mayor Frank Foster said he anticipated the site would be redeveloped soon.
OklahomaLongtime Ada station owner Jim Martin has had to close two of his businesses recently. After 40 years, he ran the pumps dry at his Phillips 66 station. Another station he owns in Ada closed in March, said The Ada Evening News. "I've been selling Phillips 66 gasoline for 51 years," he said. "Eleven years in Tulsa and 40 years here in Ada…. It's about time to retire." He cited high costs of operations as another reason for shutting down the businesses. "It's hard to make a profit anymore," he said. "There's too many demands on me." Martin said the corporation commission has told him he must inspect his underground tanks using a surveillance camera, which is expensive. "I had the tanks completely relined with fiberglass 10 years ago, but that's not good enough. I just told them it's just not worth it. Every year they come up with something new that costs $5,000 to $10,000. I'm making three or four cents a gallon on gasoline, I can't come out even." Martin won't retire completely. He also owns Homer Stop & Go, which will stay open. But the pumps there only work up to $3.99 a gallon. They will be replaced with electronic pumps soon, Martin said.
Gasoline ran out in late May at Harley and Hadley Hintergardt's full-service station in Oklahoma City, and it will close. Current prices put a strain on the 50-year-old pumps, among other reasons, said NewsOk.com. Hadley will go to work for an oil company and Harley said he is still looking.
OregonThe pumps ran dry June 13 at Earl's Union 76 in Salem, said The Statesman Journal. William Earl Rutland, whom everyone knows as Earl, was forced to close the business. His lease on the property was not renewed. Tower Energy Group, an independent wholesaler, supplies the fuel for Earl's. The day before his scheduled June delivery, Rutland was informed he would have to pay $50,000 up front. In response to high fuel prices, some distributors now require station operators to pay before or upon delivery. A Tower Energy spokesperson would say only that there was an "underlying lease problem." Rutland said his monthly rent had increased to $4,800, which was making it tough for him to stay in business. Suncor Holdings-Cop II LLC owns the property. A Suncor spokeswoman had no knowledge of the circumstances of the lease and said the company had no plans for the site. Rutland might have been able to stay in business, he said, if he could have paid for required upgrades, including changing the colors from orange to red for ConocoPhillips, which owns the 76 stations. And if he could have sold 200,000 gallons per month, twice what he normally pumps.A new Love's Truck Stop is under construction in the town of Ontario, reported The Argus Observer. The site covers about five-and-a half acres. The 9,000-square-foot building will contain a c-store and showers. The facility will offer both diesel and gasoline. It will also feature a Chester’s Chicken restaurant and a Subway. The truckstop is slated to be completed in mid-December.
After more than 30 years, the Phillips 76 station, the only gas station in Pleasant Hill, closed its doors in late May, reported KVAL-TV. Employee Chris Burke said a deal that fell through with ConocoPhillips is the reason for the closure.
PennsylvaniaA Sheetz c-store in Waynesboro has closed after 25 years. Monica Jones, a spokesperson for the Altoona, Pa.-based chain, told The Chambersburg Public Opinion the age of the store was the major factor in the decision to close. "It was a very old store with a limited ability to remodel or rebuild on that existing property. Being one of the original store designs, it's almost half the size of our newest store model," she said. Newer stores occupy about 4,500 to 5,000 square feet. Jones said the Waynesboro store was not large enough to accommodate newer services, such as expanded food offerings. "Equipment that needs to go into the stores just can't fit very well into older store models," she said. Jones added that all of the 20 employees will be offered positions at nearby stores. She said the company had been looking for a potential new site in Waynesboro, but currently does not have any plans to put another store there.Several Scranton gas stations recently acquired by Clinton, N.J.-based Waseem Petroleum clost in May. Waseem Petroleum bought the stations as part of group of Shell-affiliated stations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and operated them for about 18 months. It closed two stations in Scranton and others in Dickson City, Dunmore and Clarks Summit, said The Scranton Times-Tribune.
The Philly Express in York closed in late May, reported The York Daily Record. A new location outside the city was slated to open in June. The shop opened in 2003, but a new building for the York City School District on North Pershing Avenue has led to the shop's closure. The district needs the property for additional parking for what will soon be the district's new administration building. After considering obtaining the property through eminent domain, the school board voted Wednesday to buy the property for $330,000. The Philly Express will open under a new name, Rod's West End Lottery, in West Manchester Township. Rodney Clinton, the owner of the shop, has two other c-stores within a few blocks of each other in York.
Tim Williams, who opened TJ's One Stop Convenience Store in Weatherly last year, added Exxon-branded gasoline dispensers in late May, reported The Standard Speaker, along with a laundromat, gift store and arcade. Williams said that, despite high gas prices that seem to increase almost every day, he wanted to open the gas station for the convenience of borough residents. "I did it because we don't have any other gas station in Weatherly," he said.TennesseeRising pressure from the global petroleum market has forced Dyersburg-based Joe G. Baker Oil Co. Inc., a family business established in 1952, to close, said The State Gazette. "It's just that the dynamics of the small family business cannot support the rising price of crude oil," said Brad Baker, who with brother Bill Baker, the company's bookkeeper computer technician, represents the second generation of the firm. "We're not fast enough to respond to price changes that come twice a day."TexasShaw Pidani's Mobil station, a fixture in the South Austin neighborhood of Barton Hills for 40 years, closed at the end of June, reported The Austin American-Statesman. Pidani, who has owned the gas station for 10 years, said he decided not to sign a new lease that would require him to assume responsibility for maintaining the building and for any leaks or other problems with the underground tanks. He had been subleasing the property from TETCO, a San Antonio company that decided not to renew its lease. A new station opened July 1 in place of Pidani's business, said Brent Marshall, a manager for JBM Land Partners, San Antonio, which owns the property. Marshall said he had gotten many letters from customers supporting Pidani's business, but Pidani wouldn't agree to the terms of the lease offered to him. "The lease we offered him is the same lease we offer to every one of our property tenants.... It says the tenant pays the taxes, insurance and maintenance on the premises," he said.
VermontAfter 30 years, Chuck Rollins has sold Chuck's Mobil in Winooski to Maplefields, a branch of R L Vallee Inc., because of the poor economy, Rollins told The Burlington Free Press. "I had been contemplating for the last year, and I finally decided to make the decision," he said. "Gasoline is very high and people are very conscious of that. It was time to sell it." As an independent business owner, Rollins said he prided himself in offering a reasonable, low price for gasoline. Competition with larger companies forced a price increase. "It got to the point where I could not get the good price from my sources and the reason is because I'm an independent business owner," Rollins said. "I found myself not being able to do what I was programmed to do, which is giving customers a good price." When Rollins purchased the business in 1977, he bought gasoline directly from Mobil. Rollins then worked with R L Vallee as the middleman. He said he chose to sell the station to R L Vallee because it was already involved as the fuel supplier. "It would be easier to transition to those guys rather than sell it to another independent who may struggle as I did," he said. "I just found myself in a situation where I could not compete." Rollins said he left on good terms for a reasonable price. Rollins is looking to own another small business, possibly in the industry.
West VirginiaMcWilliams Hilltop Service Station closed over the weekend after selling off its remaining gasoline, diesel and LP gas and collecting some past debts, The Mountain Statesman said. The late Ronald McWilliams and his wife, Doris Eileen, purchased the station from Albie Hess in 1986. What started as a one-room Fleetwing Service Station in 1959 has become a landmark in Grafton for nearly 50 years. Five years after it opened, it became a Mobil station for 27 years, until it changed to a BP station in 1991. Over the years, the station has grown from a one-room, full-service station to a large station with a garage. It has been one of the few stations to still offer full service at the pumps. Larry Brown, Ron’s nephew, has been running the business with the help of Fred Kline since Ron’s death in January 2007. Brown, the executor of the McWilliams estate, has been trying to sell the business according to McWilliams's wishes.
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