FISHERS, Ind. -- Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which already rebuilt the Indiana-based chain of Bigfoot stations as Circle K convenience stores, will turn several Fishers, Ind., Shell stations into Circle K stores selling Shell gasoline, reported The Indianapolis Star.
The Fishers stations are among 32 former Shells in the Indianapolis metro area sold last February to Couche-Tard. After weeks of being closed, one small station was flattened recently, said the report. The once-busy corner is now a mud pit occupied by construction equipment, it added. [image-nocss] By next summer, the station will be rebuilt bigger and rebranded by the Canadian company that bought most of the Shell stations in Central Indiana.
Another area Shell station also was demolished in the past month, the report said. Fishers Plan Director Wes Bucher said the new designs of both stations have been approved by the town. Reconfigured sites will give easier access for motorists, he told the newspaper.
The new owners of the former Shell stations already have remodeled a third location at the Fishers Town Center, said the report.
Mike Broughal, director of Midwest real estate for Circle K, said the two stations in Fishers will be replaced by newly designed buildings of about 3,400 to 3,600 square feet. One station will have eight pumps, and other will have five, he told the paper.
Separately, Shell Oil Co. has cut the flow of gasoline to 16 Oregon stations11 in the Eugene, Ore., areabecause the stations' operator is behind in its payments, a Shell spokesperson said Friday, according to The Register-Guard.
The stations were closed on Friday, following the Thursday action, but could reopen under a new operator in "days or weeks," Alison Chassin, spokesperson for Shell's Western region, told the newspaper.
Chassin said Shell's products were cut off from the stations, which had been operated by Rogue River, Ore.-based CLC Investments, after CLC violated its contract by falling behind in payments to Shell. "We notified CLC of the breach, and that this could adversely affect their status as an operator," Chassin said. "In order to avoid increased financial losses, we stopped the fuel supply at these locations. We advised them several times over the past several months, and they have been noncompliant."
Stations affected by the gasoline shutdown include the Eugene outlets, as well as units in Springfield, Veneta, Junction City and Halsey, Ore. CLC also has two stations in Medford and one each in Central Point, Corvallis and Grants Pass, Ore.
Convenience stores at some of the locations remained open on Friday, said the report, but the gasoline pumps were closed and taped off with yellow ribbon.
"I've heard from others [false rumors] that Shell is shutting down in Oregon," said Chassin. "But Shell has 280-plus retail sites around Oregon. We are not shutting down our operations in Eugene or in Oregon."
The company is currently negotiating with a new operator, she said. She did not know whether the new operator runs other stations for Shell, or if all of the closed stations would be shifted to this operator. "We are currently in discussions," Chassin said. "We're talking days to weeks [before the stations reopen], hopefully not anything longer than that. And we apologize to the consumers for any inconvenience."Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.