Historic business branches out to new location

After 90 years on Merigomish Road, McKay Fuels a portion of a family-owned business has moved to a more prominent location on East River Road in Blue Acres.

Kevin McKay’s great grandfather was the person who started McKay Fuels in 1928. At that time Merigomish Road where the company was located was part of the main highway across Nova Scotia.

But that has changed with the coming of the Trans-Canada Highway and in more recent years the closure of the Co-Op grocery store, which neighboured it, caused a further decrease in traffic.

“It was just time for a change after 90 years of being in that location,” McKay said. “We needed to be somewhere a little more visible.”

Kevin’s father Bruce McKay owns the V-Filling Station which will remain on Merigomish Road. Kevin McKay said he has no plans to move gas pumps to the new location.

Kevin said already they’ve had a positive response from customers who say they like the new location because it’s convenient to get in and out of. McKay said it’s hard to say right now how much of an impact the increased visibility will have, but he’s expecting to see their customer base grow as people become more familiar with their business.

“I’m seeing a lot of new faces,” he said.

He hopes that the customer service will differentiate them.

“When you do come in, you talk to a person,” he said. “There’s still the physical interaction when you come in.”

He said they will offer cash deliveries as well as prompt service with orders that come in before noon being delivered that day.

ADAM MACINNIS/THE NEWS McKay Fuels has found a new home on East River Road. Owner Kevin McKay said they were looking for a more visible location. From left are Joel, Vicki, Kevin and Casey McKay. Also pictured are their dogs Roxy and Frank.