Fox Lake service station reopens; prices to stay low

The gas station that has traditionally posted the lowest gas prices in Fox Lake has reopened following a major renovation.

The Citgo service station at Grand Avenue and York Drive officially opened for business Saturday, said Jennifer French, station manager.

And while customers will see many changes, perhaps what's most important -- the price at the pump -- will still be low, the owners said. On Tuesday, the station was selling regular unleaded fuel for $2.87 a gallon.

French said the 3,000-square-foot facility replaced a 700-square-foot building that closed in March. That original building was only big enough for one or two customers to stand in at once.

French said the added room allows for more convenience store merchandise to be sold. A Mr. Submarine sandwich shop has also been opened for business inside the facility.

"We are happy it has reopened," she said. "It's nice to have this much room available."

Village Treasurer Paul Christensen said gas prices were over $3 a gallon before the Citgo reopened. He said, however, most gas stations in town have dropped their prices to match.

"Part of that can be attributed to that gas station reopening, but also because the price of oil dropped and gas prices went down because of it," he said. "But, I firmly believe Fox Lake has the lowest gas prices. I don't think anyone has lower prices than we do."

Representatives of a couple neighboring gas stations would not comment about the reopening of the gas station.

Co-owner Asim Abbasi said the decision to expand the 50-year-old building came after 3½ years of planning and preparation. Abbasi owns the station with his brother-in-law, Mike Iqbal.

Abbasi said customers can expect the station to live up to its reputation of keeping gas prices as low as possible.

"Our goal is to always have the lowest prices," he said. "We will remain as competitive as we were before."

Mayor Cindy Irwin said she has been keeping an eye on construction of the facility and was happy when the business reopened.

"It's beautiful. They've done an amazing job on it," she said "And, better yet, it seems like since they opened up, everyone has had to drop their gas prices to keep pace. It's great for residents."