14-Sep-1996 Saturday
BARONA INDIAN RESERVATION -- A new gasoline station and
market is proving
to be a popular stop for casino patrons, tribal members and
commuters who
pass through the Lakeside-area reservation.
The
tribally owned and operated Barona Station opened Aug. 31
without
fanfare on a one-acre site near the casino entrance on Wildcat Canyon
Road.
With fuel prices ranging from $1.25 a gallon for 87 octane to
$1.42 for
premium, the business is attracting about 1,200 customers a day,
according
to station manager Al Garcia. Gas sales are averaging 6,000 to
7,000
gallons daily, he said.
The enterprise has a threefold purpose:
to provide revenue for the tribe,
give employment to tribal members and
provide a local store for the
reservation community.
The station has
six state-of-the-art fuel pumps. Its market, covering about
2,000 square
feet, has groceries, produce and various household items.
"With this new
business, we will continue to do even more for people on and
off our
reservation," tribal Chairman Clifford LaChappa said in a prepared
statement.
"A few years ago, no one would have dreamed that we would have
the resources
to open a successful tribal-owned business."
Ten of the station's 16
employees are Barona band members, Garcia said. "It
will be
a wonderful training ground for our youth to learn about business,"
he said
in a tribal news release.
The station is not a franchise of a major oil
company. Its fuel is provided
by Pacific Southwest Trading, an independent
distributor.
Tribal officials declined to release figures on
construction costs and
estimated revenue projections.