Couple say goodbye to their business
While never put off by naysayers, retiring business owners Tony and Betty McGreal did use a trick or two to give their fledgling venture the air of success.
‘‘We used to park our cars on the forecourt to make it look busy,’’ Tony joked, as he and Betty reflected on close to 35 years of operating a business in Waitara.
In June, 2001, the McGreals opened BJ’s Four Square and Challenge service station on the town’s main street. Before that, they ran Tysons service centre in Brixton for 14 years.
‘‘There was a lot who said it wouldn’t succeed,’’ Tony said of BJ’s Four Square, which was built on the site of a former furniture store.
But the couple, who have been married for 54 years, never doubted they could make their business work as they always had the passion and drive to put in the hard yards required.
The years of dedication to the venture have paid off as BJ’s Four Square continues to thrive and under the McGreals’ tenure it employed a total of 107 people.
‘‘That’s been very rewarding as well,’’ he said.
However, Tony admitted it was now time for new blood to take over and invigorate the business.
After a three-year effort to find new owners, a deal was struck and Syd and Nikki Arora, who have come from managing a store for 13 years in Hamilton, took over the reins last month.
The couple bought two of their employees with them to Taranaki and have kept the majority of staff previously employed by the McGreals, who have spent the last fortnight tying up loose ends regarding the ownership change.
The McLean St venture has been a family affair for the McGreals, whose daughter Donna worked in the business for 15 years. Four of their grandchildren had jobs there too.
The couple said the support from their customers had also been key and not seeing their faces every day would be hard.
‘‘What we tried to do is put back into the community the support they had given us,’’ Tony said.
This included sponsoring the Tysons netball squad for 15 years, a team Betty also managed, along with supporting schools, community events and other causes.
For the past three years, the McGreals also sponsored the Francis Douglas Memorial College’s football academy, covering costs related to hiring a development officer, team shirts and travel.
Working as a ‘‘gofer’’ for the academy is something Tony is looking forward to after their first family Christmas celebrations free of the demands of the business.