As gas hits its summer prices, Goldenites will have a new place with which to fuel up before heading out on those long summer road trips.
Gas Plus opened its doors last month, taking over the location that had been previously abandoned next to the Civic Centre.
Bobby Lee and his wife Chloe Cho, who moved to Golden in February, are the new owners of the franchise.
Both Lee and Cho are from South Korea originally and Lee moved to Vancouver (where his sister was already living) in 2006 to study at BCIT.
“I liked Canada so I immigrated permanently in 2010,” Lee said.
After moving around to Cranbrook and then Saskatchewan, the couple heard about the Gas Plus opportunity in Golden and were easily drawn to the area, while seeing potential in the gas station and its location.
“I was really impressed with the people,” Lee said. “Everyone is really friendly in Golden and the mountains are great.”
Sherri MacDonald manages the couple’s apartment building and they remain grateful to her for all the work she did when helping them find a place.
Changes are already underway at the station and its convenience store with new products coming in all the time and the start of a loyalty program for repeat customers. With that program, one per cent of what a customer spends will go onto their account after each purchase. Money saved from that account can be used at any time for in-store credit.
For the moment, Lee and Cho haven’t hired any employees for their 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. operation, but they plan to once the business gets more established.
Despite only being here for a few months, the couple already sees Golden as their long-term home.
“We’re very excited to be a part of this community,” Lee said.
