On Sunday, August 29, Hurricane Ida made landfall on the Louisiana Coast as a Category 4 storm. It turned out to be one of the strongest storms ever to hit the Gulf Coast. By the next day, more than a million utility customers were without power. Damage was catastrophic. With no power, c-stores could not pump fuel, credit cards were useless and tensions were high.

Thirty miles from the coast is Houma, Louisiana. With a population of about 30,000, the city was directly in the path of the outer eye wall. There, Gapp Fuel & Food Services operates three convenience stores under the name Buchiki’s. We profiled Buchiki’s in March 2020, so after the storm cleared, our thoughts turned to finding out how the c-stores had fared.

Each location sustained damage. Park Avenue, a small store the company acquired in December 2018 and opened in 2019, is a total loss. “The roof collapsed, the canopy is gone and for the most part it’s not salvageable,” James Ricker, chief operations officer of the company, shared when Gas Station Gourmet visited him on-site in September. “We’re waiting to see if we can get it operational to support the community.” Gapp Fuel & Food Services aims to “build a deli with a small c-store and small cooler,” on the site, but for now, “things are up in the air,” he said.

Construction on a new location was recently completed, and there were plans for a grand opening. Ida changed that. “The wind tore part of the roof off. There’s damage to the ceiling and sheetrock, and the inventory is a total loss. It could be operational in a month or a month and half,” Ricker said. The only functioning store of the three is the 5912 West Main Street location.

Chaos at the pumps

It’s often difficult for people to understand the widespread impact of a hurricane. Property is damaged, destroyed or completely blown away. People are emotionally wrought, often trying to comprehend the damage to their homes, while desperately trying to reach family members when there is no cell service, internet or electricity.

Fuel becomes a major priority. People search frantically for gas stations that are operational. Lines are long, and patience is short. Managing the forecourt is imperative to avoid chaos and violence.

As lines of cars stretch down the street, the first thought might be to reach out to local law enforcement to help manage traffic. Ricker found that they were stretched very thin and didn’t have the resources to send officers out.

We let our personal issues take a back seat to helping the community deal with this.

“Me, our chef and all upper management put on neon vests to direct traffic. Customers are fighting at the pumps. Guns have been drawn. We’re trying to make the customer experience as seamless as possible. We have an employee at the entrance, one in the forecourt and one at the exit to keep cars from pulling in and to make sure cars exit in one direction,” Ricker explained. “It was all hands on deck.”

As the days passed, Ricker found customers appreciated the extra effort. “I cannot tell you how many compliments we get. Our service is so fast.” Imagine customers waiting 45 minutes for gas only to drive up to the pump and find out there’s none. “We let people know we’re about to run out of gas,” Ricker said. “We have lines two or three blocks long.”

Securing fuel is a major challenge. “Currently, our fuel distributor, Waguespack Oil, has been great in getting us fuel. I can get fuel every 32 hours. I used to be able to get fuel in 10 or 12 hours. Yesterday, I got 11,000 gallons of fuel, and by the end of the day, I may have had 1,000 gallons in the tank. Some refineries are closed or only partially operational. I set up a standing order every 32 hours. The demand for it is so high.”

Security

Even in the best operating circumstances, store security is always top of mind for gas station operators. The n

“Criminals know that this is cash only,” the Buchiki’s COO said. Always No. 1 is the safety of our employees. Gas stations are targets. I don’t like to have my stations open past 10 p.m. Right now, we close at six because of parish mandates. We do everything in our due diligence to make sure facilities are well lit. We also keep our relationship with police good. We offer them free drinks,” he said, adding, “We had looting at the West Park Avenue location. [Looters] took cigarettes, liquor and beer and ran out.”

In trying times like this, helping the community makes the store successful. It’s the little things that count. The need for vigilance is even more heightened following natural disasters.

“A guy tried to jump a curb to exit. We had to get him off the curb when he got stuck. We’ve given away free bread. We let our personal issues take a back seat to helping the community deal with this. The hardest part is helping friends and family and taking care of your own stuff. No one got out of this storm scot-free,” he said.

Ricker has a positive outlook as he surveys what was once the newest and shiniest location. He looks a bit weary in his orange vest but knows customers need Buchiki’s more than ever.

“We don’t know what customers are going through. We cannot help everybody, but we will help as many people as we possibly can. At the end of the day, these are just things. The health and safety of our families and our employees are the most important things,” Ricker said, adding, “Things don’t happen to you, they happen for you.”