Local service station owners gave mixed opinions about new gas stations that have opened in Ames during the last year.

There is a Swift Stop Phillips 66 in the Northern Lights Center at Grand Avenue and Wheeler Drive, a Texaco on the corner of South Duff and Airport Road and a Citgo will be opening soon on the corner of Lincoln Way and Clark Avenue.

Swift Stop manager Larry Parr said his store opened on May 19 to fill a void in that particular area.

“They saw a need here for a state of the art convenience store and carwash,” Parr said. “We have a lot of new technology that everyone will be updating to soon.”

He said the new Swift Stop has pay at the pump and an automated carwash.

J.L. Nelson, manager of Kum & Go, 111 Duff Ave., said he does not think there have been many new stations opening up in the area lately, and the ones that have are only servicing a growing community.

Butch Hansen, owner of Butch’s Amoco on the corner of Lincoln Way and Duff Avenue, said the gas market in Ames is “flooded.”

“There used to be a QuikTrip in the area, and they are powerhouses in this business, but they saw the writing on the wall and left,” he said. “There are too many people in this market for this area.”

Hansen said he saw the opening of the Swift Stop as a great asset to the community. On the other hand, he did not think there was a need for all of the new stations that have opened along Duff Avenue and Lincoln Way in the past few years.

“I have been here for seven years, and in just the past two or three years, I have seen two new Amoco’s go in just right down the street from me, along with many other convenience stores,” Hansen said.

Mark Reinig, economic development coordinator for the City of Ames, said the new gas stations are opening to service “need areas” in the community.

“New gas stations are opening up, but at the same time, quite a few gas stations have also gone out of business or closed their doors,” Reinig said.

He said many of the closings are a result of new gas tank regulations.

“Quite a few businesses can’t handle the expense of replacing a tank,” he said. “The new requirements actually make it easier to open a new gas station rather than repair an existing one.”

Besides new regulations, Reinig said Ames has been growing at a steady rate over the past 50 years. The gas station openings are simply a reflection of this growth, he said.

Reinig said another gas station might be coming to Ames near South Dakota Avenue and U.S. Highway 30.

“When we look at that part of the area, it is definitely a possibility that a gas station will go in there,” he said. “The area is zoned for that kind of commercial use.”

At many new gas stations, services such as banks and restaurants also are opening at the same locations.

Swift Stop has a Do-Biz Bakery inside and a Subway restaurant attached to the building, and the new Texaco has a Brenton Bank.

“As with all businesses, everyone needs to focus on any extra thing you can do to get the customer here,” Parr said.

“Convenience is the key,” Reinig said. “Banking and restaurants at the gas station is more convenient for the customer, and since banks don’t always have a large capital of their own they can piggyback on other developments.”