"Big Easy Inspiration" - At Home in Arkansas

" a building that's something of a treat for the eyes." Arkansas Times, August 2005

Arkansas Times, July 2005

Convenience Store News, Feb.8, 1999 Vol. 34 #2,

Flourishing in Wal-Marts Shadow

At 4,000 square feet, the new Relay Station in El Dorado, AR, is more than twice the size of E.C. Hammond Oil Co.’s two other convenience stores. Of course, when sitting in front of a Wal-Mart supercenter, size is a matter of perspective.

With eight fueling positions, a car wash, a Blimpie Subs & Salads, and a TCBY, the store is well positioned as the “one stop shopping experience” owner Gary Sewell envisioned when he purchased the 1-acre parcel and built the relatively large c-store at the mass merchandiser’s entrance.

“We wanted something definately different, definately upscale,” Sewell explained. “I never understood why c-stores had to be poorly lit, without a clean atmosphere. We wanted something airy and open, with alot of windows.”

Upon entering, Relay Station customers are drawn to the neon artwork circling the vaulted ceiling. To the left are green cacti and a setting sun. To the right, a ranch house and corral are featured. In the center, the words “Relay Station” are written in neon script under a custom-designed sign depicting a stagecoach, drivers, and horses.

Neon signage also is used around the perimeter of the store. The lighted signage - set over a brass colored reflective laminate - directs customers, delineates departments (“Fountain”, “Treats”, “Cold Beverages”, “Rest Room”, etc.) and highlights the store’s branded fast-food offerings.

Strict ordinances limiting outside signage make the use of neon more important, added Andrew Hicks, the Little Rock, AR-based architect who designed Relay Station. “Interior signage needs to be read from outside of the building,” Hicks said. “It needs to project to the gasoline islands and beyond to the street.”

Reacting to positive customer and employee feedback, Sewell plans to incorporate many of the Relay Station’s design elements into future stores.

And from a convenience retailers standpoint, pleasing employees - even if only through esthetics - is becoming increasingly inportant.

“Employee sastisfaction is one of the toughest challenges c-store operators deal with,” Hicks said.

In general, c-store operators are becoming more interested in zoning laws, building codes and market trends, Hicks said. “By demanding a well-designed and decorated facility to do business with, consumers have made retailers sit up and take notice.”