People first

In 2011, the duo upgraded the hardware store to a Home Hardware Building, and five years later, they paved the strip mall’s parking area. The c-store has a 24-hour ATM on the premises, and sells everything from live bait to lottery tickets to fireworks, which is one of the best-selling items year-round. The plan is to renovate the space to add a new accessible washroom and the c-store into a vacant 1,200 sq. ft. unit next door so they can offer more in the way of confectionary and other items they’re customers are after.

“We're always looking to improve our product line,” she explains. “We've got propane bottles, and we're planning to put in automotive propane eventually.”

As for tobacco sales, they’ve levelled off, reports Marilynne. “At the beginning of the year, people are trying to stick to their New Year’s resolution and they're trying to quit smoking, so that’s when the vaping stuff sells more." 

Thanks to its prime location, Marilynne reports that the pandemic did not adversely affect overall sales for the store. 

“For us, it's been business as usual,” she says. “We take all the precautions—masks, shields and sanitizer. We get lots of highway traffic because we have lots of parks in the area, so we really didn't slow down. We were quite busy throughout.”

However, staffing presents an ongoing challenge, Marilynne admits. The couple doesn’t hire students because the store’s shifts are from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“In a rural area, it's hard, and we're always looking for staff,” she says. “If one staff member's sick, then we're scrambling. I wish I could attract and keep the right people—we’re always looking for incentives, but being a small community, you get what you get and you hope people stick around.”

When new employees come onboard, the Brulottes provide a manual for them, along with a uniform and name tag. 

Prior to the pandemic, the c-store had introduced fresh soup, stews, pizza, hot dogs from a roller grill and other entrees to their product line, but last March, they cut back to offering pre-packaged food only.

“When COVID hit, we had to stop everything where people used self-serve,” Marilynne explains. “And now, we don't have the facility to sell fresh food, since we only have one staff working at a time. We hope to start up again after the pandemic.”

The c-store’s customer base is split evenly between tourists passing through and local residents. Fas Gas’ loyalty card program, the Litre Log, offers savings on fuel, which attracts lots of people, she says, adding price-wise they are very competitive with bulk stations. Plus, they have a fleet card program (with volume discounts) and, as part of the planned renovations, will be adding a larger diesel fuel tank with saddle pump to fuel larger trucks.

The Brulottes are proud to support many grassroots charitable organizations in the community.

“We’re very busy and active in our business—we work six days a week, so we’re here all the time, but we really try to support anything that has to do with kids,” says Marilynne. 

“We help the Elks, the Legion, the local schools and minor hockey teams. For us, this business is all about the people. It’s fast-paced, and you get to meet or catch up with people in the community. That’s what we enjoy the most.”