A NEW fuel retailer has opened in Bathurst and is already making its presence known to local motorists.
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Independent retailer Pearl Energy is positioned on the corner of William and Keppel streets, on the former Inwood Motors site.
It took a few months for construction to get under way and be completed, but the petrol station was finally able to open for the first time on Saturday, April 18.
It is owned by Nick Patel, who is no stranger to running businesses in Bathurst.
He already has two other businesses operating in the city and those positive experiences encouraged him to bring another business to town.
"We already have a couple of businesses in the town, the Quality Hotel and a Caltex in Kelso, so we know about the the ins and outs of Bathurst, and the location was chosen based on traffic counts," Mr Patel said.
Being an independent retailer, Pearl Energy is able to offer lower prices than many other retailers in the city and is committed to consistently being the cheapest in Bathurst.
"We have plans to make [petrol] cheaper for the whole town, 365 days a year," Mr Patel said.
"If we can't beat them, then we will have the same price."
Pearl Energy has already proven that it is prepared to offer the cheapest prices.
As of Monday, the retailer had the lowest prices for all three major varieties: unleaded, diesel and e10.
The NRMA has welcomed the retailer's presence in Bathurst, saying that it will create further competition.
The business is being run by four casual employees and Mr Patel himself.
In addition to petrol, the retailer offers a lot of convenience items and food, including pies, sandwiches, ice creams and $1 coffee.
Bathurst motorists have seemingly welcomed the new retailer, with the customer base growing.
"We've had a good response, but at the moment there is less traffic on the roads. It's not a good time to open anything at the moment, but we had all the stock anyway, so we decided to open," Mr Patel said, adding that he expects patronage to grow as the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end.
"... We have a lot of residents around. They are coming in for milk and bread already."
He looks forward to welcoming more customers and promises they will be getting the best deal in Bathurst.
"They can expect good-quality petrol at a reasonable price," he assured.
The Bathurst petrol station is the third Pearl Energy site in Australia.
Other retailers are located in Forster and Brisbane, and the company plans to rollout another 15 after the pandemic.
