Retailers often leverage social media for touting their daily and weekly in-store promotions.
Milwaukee independent convenience-store owners Sonia and Marvin Nash thought outside the box about how the power of social media could effect change—doing so in a somewhat unorthodox way. The couple made an appeal for locals to frequent their fledgling business when foot traffic dwindled, this after assuming control of the bp-branded location last November.
The store had been owned for years by local Black entrepreneur Diane Stowers, debuting in the 1990s. When Stowers opened this bp gas station in Milwaukee’s Arlington Heights neighborhood, it had the distinction of serving as Wisconsin’s lone Black-owned gas station.
While the unit is now carrying on the tradition as a Black-owned entity, the Nash couple learned some valuable lessons about the challenges of c-store operations. The foot traffic to the store dropped, more than likely due to an ownership shift and some locals scattering to other nearby stores.
In 2024, the store actually shuttered for a spell before the Nash’s stepped forward to take over operations.
The social media effort meant taking to Facebook to recruit new and perhaps lapsed customers. According to the post, The Nash’s submitted a post on a local third-party account of Black Dollar Network: “Unfortunately, when times get tough, and unlike our competitors, we don’t have the luxury of borrowing money from other gas station owners,” the Nash post read. “Therefore, WE NEED your help, Milwaukee! Please patronize us. Please support us. We cannot succeed without you.”
The post continued: “I can’t tell anyone where to spend their hard-earned money, but how does the ONLY Black and brown-owned gas station in Milwaukee not get the support it needs? I continuously see our people patronize our competitors who are directly across the street.”
Sonia Nash believes people were unaware the station had been relaunched under new ownership. Social media helped enlighten the local community otherwise, and helped boost foot traffic.
“Once that posted, people started supporting,” Sonia Nash told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “People do care and do care about Black businesses. I appreciate everybody that came and supported. They are still supporting.”
Newbies to the industry, the Nash’s have professional experience outside retail. Sonia Nash has worked as a facilities manager while Marvin Nash spent two decades as a correctional officer with a local house of correction before retiring in 2024.
To make for a smooth transition, the couple retained all of the existing station staff to help guide the couple about the ins and outs of c-store operations.
The couple was actually approached multiple times about buying the bp and took a pass two of those occasions due to a lack of retail operations.
This third time, they had a change of heart.
The Nash duo have big plans for the business, including debuting a barbecue restaurant located in the station’s cafe. They also plan to host bookbag and gas giveaways to continue to generate goodwill and sustained customers. “It is so like family,” Sonia Nash told the Journal. “It is so nice to have that in the community.”
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