A6
BUSINESS
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Service station declares independence from national chain
PAUL’S SERVICE STATION
BIZZ
BUZZ
WHERE: 300 N. Main St., Joseph
HOURS: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday
CONTACT: 541-432-3531 or summerz_day@hotmail.com
By Bill Bradshaw
JOSPEPH — Joseph’s
lone service station has
declared its independence —
the former Paul’s Chevron
has been Paul’s Service Sta-
tion since July 22, debrand-
ing from Chevron in favor of
taking its pick of potentially
lower-priced fuel.
“We debranded from
Chevron basically because
Chevron forced us out,”
said William Castilleja, son
of station founder Paul Cas-
tilleja. “As the sign says, my
dad’s owned this place for
51 years and it’s always been
Chevron. But with Chev-
ron being a corporation ...
they’re always upgrading
and wanting people to com-
ply with their mandates.”
The latest mandate was
that Chevron required sta-
tions to install multiple prod-
uct dispensers, William said.
“Those are like the big
digital ones that most sta-
tions have where you can pay
at the pump; take your credit
card at the pump,” he said.
“These are the old, mechani-
cal-style dispensers.”
He said he does plan to
upgrade his pumps, along
with other modifi cations, but
wasn’t prepared to do so on
Chevron’s time schedule.
“In July, Chevron started
fi ning us $500 a month (for)
being out of compliance,”
he said. “So, to be able to
revamp my fueling and my
facility the way I want to, it’s
going to be hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars. Each one
lar for $3.799 a gallon, while
the two stations in Enter-
prise were 20 cents a gallon
higher.
“The stations in Enter-
prise, they can’t use
unbranded fuel,” he said.
But the older pumps do
come with some limitations.
For one, he can’t off er dis-
counts such as fuel reward
points from shopping at
Safeway. Also, he can’t
remain open 24 hours a day
without having someone at
the station, as the stations in
Enterprise can do.
Future upgrades
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Three generations of Castillejas stand beneath the new sign at Paul’s Service Station in Joseph.
From left are William, Ryker and Paul Castilleja. They recently debranded the former Paul’s
Chevron to become an independent fuel supplier.
of those MPDs they wanted
me to have cost between
$18,000 and $20,000.”
Benefi ts of debranding
In addition to being able
to shop for cheaper fuel to
sell, William said he’s also
able to off er ethanol-free
supreme.
“A lot of the sporting
community has wanted it
for years and I’ve wanted to
provide it, but I couldn’t do it
being with Chevron and hav-
ing antiquated pumps,” he
said. “Once I was debranded,
I was immediately able to
carry zero-ethanol supreme.”
His other three pumps
off er regular, supreme with
ethanol and diesel, all of
which are often less expen-
sive than the branded
stations.
“The reason why my fuel
is cheaper is because I’m
unbranded,” he said. “Gen-
erally, branded fuel is more
expensive. You pay for the
perks of being a part of a
franchise.”
William said he gets his
fuel from Byrnes Oil Co. in
Pendleton, or Pasco or Walla
Walla, Washington. Much
of it comes on barges up the
Columbia River to Pasco. He
said some diffi culties with
barge traffi c caused a surge
in fuel prices in July.
Still, Paul’s and Goeb-
el’s Service Station in Wal-
lowa are both able to shop
for the best deal on fuel to
sell. On Thursday, Aug. 12,
the stations in Joseph and
Wallowa were selling regu-
He’s hoping to upgrade
his operation, but that may
not come for another couple
of years.
“It’s going to be a process
because of the way I want
to do it,” he said. “I want
to tear down the majority
of my building and run my
fuel (pumps) east and west
instead of north and south.
Right now, the way (it is)
with this super-old building,
it’s really tight. It’s not con-
venient for bigger vehicles
pulling trailers. I could do
it sooner if I just wanted to
keep the dispensers here, but
I want to do it right.”
Part of the delay is from
the diffi culty in getting on
the schedule of construction
contractors who are so busy.
When he does get to
rebuilding, William said he’s
not likely to include a conve-
nience store, as many older
& Skylight
Gallery
stations have turned their
mechanic’s bays into.
“One, it takes a lot of
money,” William said. “Two,
I’m not sure that I want to
have a mini-mart. I like ...
being able to work on vehi-
cles. And three is we have
one grocery-type store in
Joseph and I really don’t
want to compete with them.”
Three generations
As for the other two gen-
erations involved in the sta-
tion, they’re fully supportive
of William’s moves.
Founder Paul Castilleja,
though plagued with the
eff ects of wounds suff ered in
Vietnam and ongoing kidney
disease problems, still gets
down and helps his son and
the others there.
“I come in here and help
the kids or just sit down,”
Paul said.
William’s son, Ryker, 8,
also was on hand Thursday,
ready to help pump gas.
“Yeah, I like to pump
gas,” Ryker said.
Brother Colton, 10, and
sister Kenzie, 5, also are on
deck to help, though Ryker’s
not so sure his sister should
be.
“She’ll probably mess
around,” he said.
———
Bill Bradshaw is a
reporter for the Wallowa
County Chieftain. Have a
business tip? Contact him
at 541-398-5503 or bbrad-
shaw@wallowa.com.
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CLUES ACROSS
1. Finding a purpose for
6. Discharge forcefully
10. Pal
14. Bit of gossip
15. Relative of a wharf
16. Only
17. *Shred every last bit of
in the kitchen?
19. Redding who sang
“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of
the Bay”
20. Waffle maker
21. Anger
22. Finishes a hole
23. Word after “pleasure”
or “treasure”
25. Surpass
27. *A-lister’s tirades?
31. Part of a long poem
35. Not odd at all
36. Monopoly token that
the cat replaced
38. ___ Thins (crisp cookies)
39. Ados
40. Beginner, slangily
41. Seedy tavern
42. Words in an analogy
43. Insurance giant
44. *Dissuade polite guys?
47. Math comparison
48. End result
53. Trash heaps
55. “Affirmative”
57. Inlet
58. Restaurant with syrup
caddies
59. Gets two fives, perhaps
... or what each starred
clue does, based on its
answer’s length?
62. Feeling cross
63. Stops from squeaking
64. Warning
65. Oscar winner for
“Moonstruck”
66. Marlins’ catcher?
67. Bombards
CLUES DOWN
1. Yens
2. Sudden increase
Joseph United
Methodist Church
Grace Lutheran
Church
3rd & Lake St. • Joseph
Pastor Cherie Dearth
10 AM Worship
Phone: 541-432-3102
409 West Main - Enterprise
Online AND In Person
For More Info
Worship
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541-432-3102
JosephUMC.ORG
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Enterprise
Christian Church
St. Patrick’s
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85035 Joseph Hwy • (541) 426-3449
We have ‘In-person worship” @ 9:00 am
(Guidelines observed)
Sunday School at 10:30
Parking Lot Radio/Facebook @ 9:00
100 NE 3rd St, Enterprise
NE 3rd & Main St
541-426-3439
Worship Service
Sunday 9:30am
David Bruce
Pastor, Enterprise Christian Church
Lostine
Presbyterian Church
Discussion Group 9:30 AM
Worship Service 11:00 AM
Childrens program during service
Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com
3. What you may only need to
sharpen once
4. Unacceptable
5. Test for an M.A. hopeful
6. Stimulate, as innovation
7. Mound
8. Long fish at a sushi bar
9. Sardonic
10. Blissful “place”
11. Ready and eager
12. Syllabus section
13. Kitchen that’s full of dirty
dishes, say
18. Terminate at work
22. Grp. that may discuss class size
24. Prefix with “friendly”
25. King of the fairies
26. Large coffee holders
28. “Hurry up!”
29. Online party request
30. Before long
31. Fish in a crocodile’s belly?
32. Very dry
33. “Quoth the raven, ‘___’” (Poe)
34. High-spirited tune
37. Hoops org.
39. iPhone helper
43. “Antony and Cleopatra” snake
45. Sci-fi characters
46. Walrus feature
49. You might dread stepping on it
50. Traveler’s stop
51. Blatant
52. Mobile homes?
53. Part of DVD
54. “We’re in trouble!”
55. Shout
56. Relaxed state
59. Conk on the head
60. Summer Olympics host
before Tokyo
61. Weaken
107 E. Main • Enterprise • 541-426-3351
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