He made the decision, he said, as the economy began to lag and he felt he could no longer keep the business locally owned. "This is very difficult for me right now," [image-nocss] he told the news outlet. "I've known for a few months now that this was the right decision, but it wasn't easy to make."
Last July, Jones, who lives in Westbrook, completed a $1 million renovation of the store changing it from an auto repair business to a Mobil On the Run franchise convenience store, the report said. Previously, neither Jonesy's nor the Cumberland Farms across the street had public restrooms.
Jones said he changed to a c-store at the time because it became "painfully" clear he was not going to survive as a garage. He stopped servicing cars after the change.
Now, with a lagging economy hurting many locally owned businesses and with several gas stations in the area, Jones was forced to sell to R.H. Foster in order to keep the business alive for Cape residents, he told the website.
R.H. Foster already provided the store with gasoline as its Mobil distributor, the report added.
"The people of Cape Elizabeth have been very, very good to us," Jones said. "This hurts a lot."
R.H. Foster, headquartered in Bangor, Maine, has 20 c-stores throughout Maine ranging from Millinocket to Bangor. Cape Elizabeth will be the farthest southern destination, Robert Tracy, executive vice president for R.H. Foster, told KeepMeCurrent.com.
Tracy said nothing would change at the store. It will maintain the same name, continue to sell Mobil gasoline and serve the needs of Cape residents. "I know it's been a tough decision for Gregg and his family," Tracy said. "The market is volatile, and he's a very close friend. We're hoping to make the transition as smoothly as possible for him."
The new owners also plan to keep the current staff, Tracy said. "All the changes that needed to be done were made when Gregg converted it to the convenience store," Tracy said. "It's going to be the same store, with the same people working there. The only change is the ownership."
Click herefor a Jonsey's photo gallery.
And R.H. Foster is expanding. The company is tearing down two buildings in Randolph, Maine, to build a c-store with eight gas pumps, reported The Kenebec Journal. It will be a 4,500-square-foot store and gas station, according to the report.
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