Eldon Wells (right) and his son Travis stand in front of the All-Niter convenience store and gas station on S. Railway Street, which after nearly three decades as a Shell operation will become an Esso station on Thursday.--NEWS PHOTO GILLIAN SLADE
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
After 29 years as a Shell gas station, the All-Niter on S. Railway Street will become an Esso location today.
Eldon Wells and his son Travis have secured a deal with Esso that they say provides them with better protection in a volatile price industry.
On Thursday Hatters will notice the signs changing on site from Shell to Esso, said Eldon, assuring customer service will remain the same.
“We are going to maintain our full service.”
Under the Esso brand customers will now be able to collect PC points. The All-Niter convenience store will also offer the “Winks” specials to customers, said Travis.
The All-Niter will remain a local family owned and operated business with a commitment to a high calibre of service, said Eldon.
“This was the first 24-hour convenience store in Medicine Hat, operated by the late Herb Kenny at the time, hence the name,” said Eldon. “We were open 24 hours a day for the first 16 years.”
It is now open from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. weekdays and until 10 p.m. on weekends.
“We bought our family owned business, a convenience store in 1983, and were in the Bison building, 949 S. Railway Street,” said Eldon.
In 1984 Eldon purchased three nearby houses east of the Bison building. They built a convenience store in 1986 and added a gas bar to it, the Gas King, in 1989.
“We became a Shell dealer in 1990,” said Eldon.
The City of Medicine Hat then notified Wells of its intention to twin the overpass making access to 957 S. Railway Street a little more challenging.
“I went down the street and bought four lots, where we built our new Shell site at 1033 S. Railway St. in 1999,” said Eldon. “We built and operated Track Side Liquor Store in 2003.”
Around that time Eldon sold the gas station to Travis and in 2006 sold the liquor store to Paul Howe.
