A new gas station in the city’s south end will give drivers in that part of town some more choice, including some locally-sourced food products in its convenience store.
The Waypoint Guelph convenience store and Mobil gas bar will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday. Final touches are being made Thursday and Friday for a soft launch on Friday afternoon, said Paul D. King, brand and communications manager for owner BG Fuels.
The station on Clair Road, east of Gordon Street, has been in the works for almost two years, said King.
“This was the ideal location and it seemed like the community really needed a gas station in this end of town,” he said.
The station is located on the north side of Clair Road, directly beside the LCBO and in the same plaza as Zehrs. It also features an automated car wash connected to the Waypoint Guelph store.
The new station fills a gap between the Shell station and Circle K convenience store further north on Gordon at Kortright and the many stations in and around Aberfoyle.
BG Fuels was formed in 2017 when it purchased 213 gas stations from Loblaws. Two years late, the country-wide company has 235.
Of those many stations, only 12 convenience stores have so far been branded as Waypoint. King said the idea is to rebrand the current stores to match.
One thing that differentiates Waypoint from other similar stores, like Circle K, is an emphasis on featuring locally-sourced food products, said King.
“One thing we feel strongly about is connecting with the local community that we are in,” he said.
Waypoint Guelph will offer Planet Bean coffee and the nuts sold at the cash have been sourced from Fergus-based Jewels under the Kilt.
“It’s not the whole store, obviously. People come into a convenience store looking for their Doritos and those kinds of things, but we will be bringing in local products and they will be right next to the cash,” said King.
During Saturday’s grand opening, the store will be having a barbecue with meat from Guelph/Eramosa-based Thatcher Farms. Proceeds of sales from the barbecue will go toward Big Brothers Big Sisters Guelph.
“We are definitely excited to partner with the community and be engaged,” said King.
The grand opening will take place between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday. King said every 30 minutes someone at the pumps will receive a $25 fuel gift card, along with other giveaways.
