News Briefs
February 16, 2016
Roman Antoine Guidry
February 17, 2016
A community staple in downtown Houma is under new leadership, but its same old-time charm has stuck around.
The Conoco gas station on Barrow Street has been around since 1941, and was under ownership of the Bourg family since 1973 when Lavis Bourg Sr. bought it from Jake Walker. Lavis Bourg Jr., known as “Jay,” took over for his father, who died in 2003.
As gas stations around the country became increasingly focused on getting customers in and out, the Lavis Conoco stuck to its roots of quality service and building relationships. The station remained a full-service gas station where any customer that pulls in gets his or her gas pumped, car vacuumed, windows cleaned and tires and fluids checked.
When Jay decided to retire from the business last year, he began to search for buyers, preferably those that would keep the same business model around. That’s where Lenny Swiderski and Mark Arceneaux stepped in. The two men, who both work offshore, were looking into going into business together. Arceneaux happened to drive by the Lavis Conoco and saw an opportunity.
“What he was looking at fell through. Maybe mid-September I saw this was for sale, so I pulled in and met with the owner. I called Lenny and said ‘I found it,’” Arceneaux said.
When the two met with Bourg and his wife, Connie, they struck a deal and were ready to take over. Before putting pen to paper, however, the prospective owners spent time working at the station while Mark’s wife, Courtney, learned the company’s books.
“I worked here for probably six weeks before we bought it, learning the business, meeting the customers, things like that. They felt pretty confident that things were staying the same and were left in good hands,” Arceneaux said.
On Nov. 1, 2015, the Lavis Conoco officially left the younger Lavis’s hands, and the two oilmen have kept the machine running just as it has been. According to Swiderski, customers were worried that the station would change with new ownership, but he and his partner have assuaged those fears. They have kept the same policies, the same service and the same employees, much to the locals’ delight.
“Everybody is happy about it, everybody was so afraid that that was going to be the end of it. We had called Conoco, and they said out of 2,200 stations in the United States, they got four full-service stations left in the country,” Swiderski said.
That continued service has kept the same customers coming back. According to Swiderski, the new station has kept about “99 percent” of the Bourgs’ clients. Arceneaux said that they’ve held onto the trust and relationships that the Bourgs built up for 42 years.
“We have keys to certain customers’ vehicles. We go pick them up on a certain basis, bring them here, detail them, oil changes, filled up and bring it back. Charge them at the end of the month,” Arceneaux said.
With eyes on selling the station, the Bourgs did not aim to increase clientele, according to Arceneaux. Since taking over, he and Swiderski have picked up about 30 accounts.
“We are probably right on target for exactly what we expected and stuff, learning the business and meeting the customers. We’ve already started building our business. The challenges, we were ready for them. This wasn’t an overnight decision that me and Mark made,” Swiderski said.
One of those challenges is the discrepancy between his station’s gas prices and the competition’s. The full-service station can be as much as $1 per gallon more than stores right down the street, according to Arceneaux.
“But, when you come here, you get name brand Conoco non-ethanol gas, first of all, and you’re getting the service. Oil checked, car vacuumed, windows cleaned and your tires and all your fluids checked. People leave with that peace of mind that ‘My car’s good until my next fill up,’” Arceneaux said.
The new owner said that while the cratering price of oil has hit the local economy hard, those same oilfield problems haven’t reached his business yet.
“A lot of our clientele is doctors, lawyers, business owners, their wives, moms, who have been coming here for decades because they don’t want to pump their own fuel,” Arceneaux said.
Aside from their clientele, another factor keeping the business chugging along is the Conoco’s sweet location.
“It’s a dying business, let’s sort of say. Where we’re at, we’re two blocks from the courthouse, two blocks from the hospital, right in the middle of downtown. It just works,” Swiderski said.
According to Swiderski, while the two have no plans to change the service, they do want to change the aesthetics. They want to bring back an old-school feel to the shop with some relics from past decades. While work and family commitments have prevented them from starting the renovations, Swiderski said he hopes to be done by the summer.
“We’re going to really try to accent the 1960s and ‘70s and bring that out, but clean it up really nice and paint it. I think it’s going to be beautiful when it’s finished,” Swiderski said.
Arceneaux said he still taps the Bourgs’ vast wealth of knowledge if he and Swiderski run into a speed bump.
“Every once in a while we’ll call them up just to get some advice. ‘Hey, this happened, what do we do, or where do we buy this from?’” Arceneaux said.
Courtney said she understands the trust the community has placed in the shop for decades, and everyone at the station is open to customer suggestions about how to improve the service.
“One thing that I want people to know is that when they come here they will be treated right. They’re not going to leave if there’s a problem. We’re going to fix it,” she said. •
