The Pearl Street Grocery and Deli — a Shell gas station on the north end of Pearl Street in Centralia formerly named the Pearl Street Market — opened with a bang on Friday, Oct. 29.
Long lines of vehicles formed as the station sold gas for less than $1 per gallon until the afternoon. Prizes were won and race cars did donuts in the parking lot. New gas and diesel pumps had been installed, and the inside of the store had new coolers.
“It's crazy, it’s a lot of people,” said owner Harnek (Nick) Dhudwal on Friday. “Everyone is so happy because (the previous owners) never changed anything before and when I took over last year, we changed a lot of things and people like it.”
Dhudwal has lived in Lewis County since 2000 and bought his first gas station in Castle Rock. Now, he and his business partners own 15 local gas stations including the Chevron on state Route 6 across from the Poplar Tree Farm in Chehalis.
Owning multiple stores in the area is fun, he said, because they see some of the same customers at all the locations.
“We appreciate all the people,” Dhudwal said of Friday’s crowd.
Along with brand new gas pumps, the new owners have also added fresh produce, meat and other items to the store’s offerings.
