BY: Jon Stroshine, News Co-Editor
Published: Aug. 31, 2012
Early Sunday, local businessman Mike Hicks was on the fence as to whether he should lease the convenience store currently operated by Circle K. Seven hundred Taylor students got him off of it.
"I went out there, and seeing the thing Sunday night, that was my final decision to go with it," Hicks said.
Motivated by Taylor students flocking to Circle K Sunday night to buy drinks as a show of support, Hicks signed a lease agreement Sept. 30 and will operate a convenience store out of the location.
And Taylor students get the chance to name it.
The new store will open Monday, Sept. 10 and hold a naming contest in the following weeks, Hicks said.
"I'm horrible at ideas," Hicks said. "If (Taylor students) could come up with something, that'd be great."
Circle K will stay open through the end of the day Sept. 9, capping an eventful three weeks for the local business. Store manager Connie Columbus was first notified Saturday, Aug. 18 of Circle K's decision to close its Upland location.
"I was devastated," Columbus said. "This day and age, it's not easy to start over again in a job, and the more years you have at a place, the harder it seems to be."
Columbus' boss informed the rest of the employees of the planned closing Aug. 20.
When Taylor Dean of the School of Professional and Graduate Studies Connie Lightfoot visited the store that day, Circle K assistant manager Tina Wallace notified her of the closing.
Lightfoot then wrote a message regarding the closing which was distributed to Taylor students and employees Aug. 21.
"My role was simply a tiny cog in getting the word out," Lightfoot said via e-mail. "The relationships I have made with the staff of Circle K are important to me."
The news inspired Taylor juniors Josh Bate and Tom Rutzen to support the convenience store by organizing a group visit through Facebook called the "Biggest Polar Pop run you've ever seen!"
Little did they know how many people would agree to participate.
"We were just expecting maybe 100 people the first day," Rutzen said. "The first day there was over 400 people."
In all, more than 700 students accepted the Facebook invitation to attend the event. On the night of Aug. 26, students rallied in support of Circle K and its employees, swarming the convenience store to buy Polar Pops, the store's signature 32-ounce soft drink. Columbus estimated almost 800 were sold that evening.
"It's just amazing, and the support is awesome," said Circle K employee Paula Keller. "It's nice to know that they care . . . about us, as much as we actually care about them."
Students arrived en masse around 10 p.m. and were still waiting in line at 11 p.m. Cheers periodically sounded from the crowd, for everything from honking passers-by to a speech by Columbus.
"We enjoyed seeing the kids," Columbus said. "We enjoyed seeing them have fun, and we were having fun with them. I stayed pumped up for two days after that . . . . It really lifted all of us."
While Taylor students organized and executed their visit, plans for new management were in the works. Hicks first heard of the closing through a relative of one of his employees. Last week Hicks contacted National Oil and Gas, Inc., which owns the property currently leased to Circle K, about the possibility of managing the location.
"It was pretty hectic there for a while," said Gene Moser, President of National Oil, speaking of the transition in management. "We thought we'd have a closed store, originally."
Hicks' decision kept that from happening, and his previous work with National Oil sealed the deal. Hicks buys gas from National Oil for the Marathon he manages in Swayzee, Ind., in addition to operating a Phillips 66 gas station in Gas City and a Subway restaurant in Sweetser, Ind.
"He's an excellent dealer for us and runs good stores," said National Oil Sales Representative Jeff White. "No reason to believe he won't do the same there."
On Aug. 27, Hicks and White met with a Circle K official to discuss the transition. That evening, Hicks told White he would lease the location from National Oil, then made it official Aug. 30.
Noble Roman's and Marathon gas will both remain at the location when the new business takes over, according to Hicks and White. Hicks also said he will extend job offers to current Circle K employees to run his store, ending unemployment concerns for the staff.
But there will be one notable change from the Polar Pop era.
"It's actually the exact same thirty-two ounce pop, but it's ten cents cheaper . . . at my store," Hicks said. "They'll actually (save) money."
