Sinclair station is down the street from a local hangout for workers at North American Aviation that had production facility in Grand Prairie making B-24 bombers and P-51 Mustangs during WW II. 1942.
Can't remember all of them, but those that come to mind include: Arco Chevron Exxon Mobil Phillips 66 Shell Texaco Union 76 My favorite by far was the Texaco that had a B-17 Bomber hanging over the gas pumps. No kidding. Here's a picture I found online:
That one is famous! I smiled when I saw the words "Sky Chief" painted on the side of the fuselage, below the cockpit. I remember Sky Chief, Fire Chief, etc. used for their different gasoline grades. Peering over the edge of the back seat window of my Dad's car, on many of our road trips, I was fascinated by those names. Happy memories!
That was way back when "corporations" actually had talented public relations and clever advertising departments. Something which has been missing now for decades. These days, they don't care. There are far, far fewer gas stations competing. And the corporate attitude is simply you can't live without us, pump your gas, pay us and get lost.
That attitude is not just in gas stations... the retail sector is rife with the same mindset. I used to buy my replacement shaver heads in a brick-and-mortar store. Now the same store tells me to buy them on the Internet. Excuse me? Now every time I hear that refrain, I say to them that the worst enemies of brick-and-mortar stores are... brick-and-mortar stores. I'd better stop ranting or this could go on all night.
The sad truth is that it costs money to carry inventory. So things that can be bought for less online may not make much sense to keep in stock, and sell at a price that will make it worthwhile. Heck, you may be able to buy online for close to what he pays wholesale.
Yep, how true. When I had the trading post I sold music in addition to my Native American art and bought CD's wholesale out of Phoenix but could walk into a Walmart and buy some for the same price or less than what I was paying. It is very hard now to be a store that isn't part of a chain and its buying power and make it unless you are in a niche market like I was with the local art but even then it is really hard. Sumner
I make it a personal policy to give favor to local brick-and-mortar businesses (= local economy) - and their flesh-and-blood local employees (= local jobs) - long before I will give in to the faceless on-line e-tailers. The latter is only for when I have no other choice. Even then, it's with great reluctance (like EMD not wanting to put a turbocharger on the 567, but they eventually did...) At the very least my way gives me someone to holler at if my purchase is defective or damaged. Which is why I support my LHS (note the "L") as much as possible.
I am fortunate to have two LHS close by in Houston. The only issue is which one to buy what at. One of them I have been patronizing since I was in high school back in 1967 when my family moved to Texas.