Two long-running, independent service stations in State College will have slightly different names as their affiliations with Exxon come to an end this spring after more than 50 years.
College Heights Exxon, 803 N. Atherton St., will become College Heights Service Station and Graham’s Exxon, 815 S. Allen St., will become Graham’s Service Center. The changes will be effective by April 1.
Owners of both businesses told StateCollege.com that their services will remain the same and they will continue full-service fueling with unbranded gasoline.
College Heights owner Gary Green and Graham’s owner Larry Johnsonbaugh said they were informed by their local supplier that ExxonMobil required them to install new pumps and make other changes aligning with the company’s latest site image standards if they wished to continue using Exxon’s fuel and name.
“It would just be awful costly for what the benefit is,” said Green, who has owned the College Heights Exxon business since 1987.
College Heights Exxon is the oldest continually operating service station in Centre County, located on North Atherton Street since 1929, and it’s the only commercial building in the College Heights Historic District, according to the Centre County Historical Society. It’s had a variety of oil company affiliations over the years, including Shell, Humble and Esso before the early 1970s when the Exxon name replaced Esso.
The business’s new moniker is actually an old one: Green said College Heights Service Station was the name used in the 1940s and 1950s.
Dropping Exxon wasn’t his choice, Green said, but he emphasized that customers can expect the same service under the new/old name.
“There was a rumor going around that I’m going out of business and all that stuff and we want to clarify that is not the case,” Green said. “We’re going to continue doing what we’ve been doing; we’re just not going to be an Exxon any longer.”
He added that he has informed many of his regular customers.
“All my customers are just amazed that Exxon would want to pull their name off of that building,” he said. “We’re all full-service and that’s why our customers come here. Most of them say it’s not going to make any difference to them.”
Like Green, Johnsonbaugh said he was unable to speak directly with anyone at ExxonMobil, only receiving communications through their supplier.
Graham’s opened in 1964 and has been affiliated with Exxon for most of its existence, Johnsonbaugh said.
As with Green, however, Johnsonbaugh found the cost of meeting the requirements prohibitive. He estimated new pumps and islands would cost $100,000 to $200,000.
“There’s nothing we can do about it,” said Johnsonbaugh, who has owned the business for five years and worked there since graduating from high school in 1986. “We just can’t afford or even feel justified in spending that kind of money to put gas pumps in. The self-service stations are already hurting us full-service stations, so we’re not selling a lot of product. Our profits aren’t high enough to make that justifiable in my book. The pumps are still working and they look fine. They’re just not up to their standards.”
The change will come with some costs, including repainting Graham’s nine tow trucks, new signage and legally changing the business’s name, Johnsonbaugh said.
He’s also informed regular customers of the change and received a similar response as Green.
“They were like ‘We don’t care. We’re not coming here for the gas; we’re coming here for the service and you guys,’” he said. “We’re just small family-owned businesses trying to make a living and support everyone’s payrolls. As far as our gas prices, we’re right the same as Sheetz anyhow but we pump the gas for you.”
