Call Lonnie McQuirter the Twin Cities’ quintessential “glue guy.” In the sports world, every team needs that galvanizer to brings teammates together and optimize their skills.
McQuirter’s “teammates” happen to go by titles of store associate and store manager. But the point is, all combine to keep McQuirter’s destination-centric 36LYN Refuel Station, Minneapolis, hitting on all cylinders daily.
Wanting more than just a customer-driven relationship, some 36LYN customers morph into employees. One is current store manager Josie Johnson (pictured). Finding herself “at a crossroads” in the aftermath of the pandemic, Johnson reached out to McQuirter and was fortunate enough to be offered a position.
“I started coming into the store in 2012, and every time I entered it was so comfortable and friendly,” said Johnson, captivated by the store’s vibe that she applied for and secured a job, becoming store manager. “Lonnie had become like an uncle to my son and a great role model: when on the job, Lonnie mentors you without you even knowing you’re being mentored.”
Other customers feel the 36LYN vibe too—including the owner of Tacos El Kevin, a legendary Minneapolis Mexican food restaurant that also operates a popular food truck. “The owner has been a regular, coming in to exchange his propane tanks to operate the food truck,” said Johnson.
That relationship spawned a new business opportunity: McQuirter huddled with the owner and eventually allotted space in his parking lot for the Tacos El Kevin food truck to take flight in summer 2023. “Tacos El Kevin did great last season, so much that we’re eager to host the brand again in 2024,” she said.
Retailer Magnetism
Independent retailers have a tough storm to weather—magnified more post-pandemic when their mettle has been put to the test, from alt-channel competition to supply-chain issues that threatens survival.
For years, McQuirter and his customer-centric staff thrive by tapping into a vision-driven formula that clicks on all cylinders. One informal mantra is, “be better than just a local gas station,” said Johnson, who admitted “there were growing pains with retail since I came from a social worker background.”
“There’s quite a learning curve to making sure we anticipate what customers will want, while offering new products that are local and healthy. We serve about 1,900 customers per day, which includes outside pump action. There’s a lot to keep track of.”
McQuirter, who secured Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast50 award in 2017 and Inc. magazine’s Inc. 5000 as a top Minnesota company, locates the right staff where he can delegate responsibility to oversee daily operations.
This frees him up to partake in other ventures—one recent one is taking the wraps off an Airbnb in Somerset, Wisconsin. McQuirter is also closely aligned with state, regional or national associations—from Minnesota Retailers Association (MnRA) to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).
Takes a ‘Village’
About the latter, his affiliation with NACS led 36LYN to becoming one of the first national retailers, in fall 2023, to set up a live beta test in the store around the TruAge digital age-verification system.
Developed by NACS and Connexus to make the traditional carding experience more convenient and accurate, the program is useful in U.S. states transitioning to mobile driver’s licenses. It’s being offered free to retailers.
Meantime, Josie Johnson and the team are busy holding down the fort. She should know full well what 36LYN customers want—having been a pure patron prior to becoming an employee. Johnson’s own north star to thrive in the convenience retailing business is relatively basis: “to lead with a humble heart and meet staff and customers where they are.”
Added Johnson: “It’s such a fun atmosphere here. We have the regulars and also folks passing through on road trips. We get 20 to 30 dogs that come into the store with their owners while on their daily walks. It’s really like a ‘village’ here, with people always looking out for one another.”
The 36LYN Factoid File
- Fuel marketing: An unbranded marketer, the store offers eight pumps at a forecourt embossed with eye-appealing seasonal landscaping. Waterford Oil Co. supplies fuel and McQuirter installed new underground storage tanks (USTs) in 2023.
- Local ‘doppelganger’: While 36LYN might have competition that ranges from larger brands including Holiday Station Stores and Speedway, Johnson cites one nearby retailer that espouses a similar vision to the McQuirter way. “We look at Kyle’s Market, a corner store with no fuel, as being a mirror of what we do, strive for—and we love it. It’s a little bodega and head shop that sells groceries. We support retailers that are likeminded to us because it provides strength in numbers,” said Johnson.
- Future footprint decisions: 36LYN shuttered its car wash six years ago, but the structure remains intact—with the bay used to store inventory. But Johnson said the space could be repurposed to become an extension of the store in some fashion.
- Wide-ranging supply chain: In addition to local vendor-partners, 36LYN partners with larger wholesale-distributors that include Core-Mark and Farner-Bocken Co., along with local or regional suppliers such as Co-op Partners, Capital Beverages and Lipari Foods.
- Food truck operations: While 36LYN has hosted other locally known food truck brands in the past, Tacos El Kevin was handed the opportunity during summer 2023 and could return next season. Food trucks set up shop against a resplendent, eye-popping mural painted on a large exterior wall by a local artist. “We pull out picnic tables and make [the food truck space] work well,” said Johnson, about food truck availability that starts in June (daily from 11 am to 8 pm) and noon to 7 p.m. during early fall weeks.
- Social media strategies shine: McQuirter perceived social media as an optimal way to get out in front of a story—plus to make people laugh, provide entertainment and alleviate some of the misery in the world.
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