WOOD RIVER - Midwest Petroleum and the City of Wood River celebrated the opening of a new gas station with a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, Sept. 15.
Located at 1900 E Edwardsville Road, the Midwest Petroleum gas station had a soft opening on Wednesday but is now officially open for business. Already, several customers were shopping in the convenience store and filling their tanks at the pumps.
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“It’s a great idea. This company, Midwest Petroleum, has been great to work with,” Wood River Mayor Tom Stalcup said. “We’ve been developing this east side of town, and this just kind of fell in. So this is just a stepping stone of what we’re doing for the east side here.”
Several Wood River officials were present as Stalcup cut the ribbon in front of the gas station. Midwest Petroleum representatives noted the positivity of opening a new store and how easy it had been to work with the City of Wood River.
Tony Koenig, project manager, also mentioned his appreciation for the employees at Wood River City Hall and the Wood River Police Department. He added that Midwest Petroleum is family-owned, and that feeling extends to the employees and contractors, who worked hard to get the store ready.
“It didn’t have to be a big bureaucracy. It was really nice just to build that relationship,” Koenig said of working with Wood River.
The gas station is near the Illinois-255 exit, which, Stalcup pointed out, will likely help their business. Midwest Petroleum has a total of 57 stores throughout Illinois and Missouri. They were eager to add the new Wood River store to the list.
“We were really hoping it was going to be a great location. I think it’s our best store yet,” Midwest Petroleum President James McNutt said. “The City of Wood River has been amazing to work with…and we have a great team with Midwest.”
Stalcup noted Wood River’s recent growth, including the upcoming Sports Barn and an expansion planned for the Kia dealership. The grand opening of Midwest Petroleum is an exciting step forward.
“It’s just been a time of trying to bring it together, and then Midwest Petroleum was the first one to step out there,” Stalcup added. “We just appreciate what they’ve done here.”
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