By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Akash Singh’s father, the owner of Gas & Express Marts, asked his son to keep an eye out for possible locations in Bowling Green.
Singh found one close to home. A 2019 graduate of BGSU, Singh lives on Frazee Avenue and was familiar with Newman’s Marathon on 525 N. Main St.
After talks with owner Scott Newman, they struck a deal.
(Scott Newman said he did not want to comment on the sale of the business.)
As of Dec. 15, the 56-year-old BG business became BG Marathon Gas & Express Mart.
For now, though, the station will be in the gas business, as well as continuing to sell propane.
The service bays of the station have been removed and will be converted into a convenience store, including large cooler and a beer cave and a kitchen that will serve up chicken, he said. The birds will be fresh, not frozen.
That side of the operation will open in April.
“I want it to be a neighborhood store,” Singh said. And with the student population extending into the blocks along North Main, he sees a lot of potential.
Dawn Powell, who is a co-owner and manager, “This is a beautiful city. It’s a nice mixture of students and families. I love Bowling Green.”
Singh, a 2019 graduate of BGSU in economics, said they will maintain the full-serve pump at the station.
The propane business is new to him, he said. But once Newman explained the revenue it generated, he was on board, and set to learning about that business.
Singh’s father, Mike Singh, said that Gas & Express Marts operates 25 locations around Toledo. He pointed to station at Talmadge and Sylvania, near the Franklin Park Mall in Toledo as an example of what the Bowling Green location will become.
“We turned that place around,” he said.
The exterior of the former Newman’s Marathon will undergo extensive renovation, he said. “This would be one of the most beautiful buildings” in the neighborhood, he said, and that exterior will complement “the inviting interior.”
Mike Singh said there was never any thought about continuing the car repair side of the business. “I can only be in the trade I’m familiar with,” he said. “If a cashier doesn’t show up, I can still ring up the register. If a mechanic doesn’t show up, I don’t know anything about fixing a car.”
His son said that he’s aware of the competition in town in the gas and convenience store sector. “We’re here to make a better store.”
After looking at sites, particularly this one, for a long time, Akash Singh is glad to get started on making the plans a reality. “I just can’t wait.”
