Gas station, convenience store reopens in Lily Lake

Drivers in western Kane County have another option for fueling up.

The Marathon gas station at Routes 64 and 47 in Lily Lake, closed since 2008, reopened this week.

“We’ve only been open since Tuesday, but business is already good. We’re getting good feedback,” said Syed Irfan of Geneva-based Gasco, Inc., who owns the station along with his business partner, Syed Quadri.

In addition to fuel, the station offers a liquor store, convenience store, and soon will have hot food offerings.

“We’re opening a kitchen with some hot food, but I don’t know when that will be,” Irfan said.

The Marathon station is the only place to fuel up in the 20-mile stretch between St. Charles and Sycamore.

With the attached convenience store, area residents will be able to pick up a gallon of milk without traveling a long distance.

“People in the area had to drive a long way (before the convenience store reopened), so I think they are happy,” Irfan said.

The gas station and store are open 5 a.m. to midnight daily, but Irfan said they may expand it to be open 24 hours if things go well.

Irfan said he and Quadri had been looking at the location for some time before striking a deal on the property.

“It’s been in the works for the last four or five months,” Irfan said.

Although this is Irfan’s first gas station, he said Quadri has experience running other gas stations, so patrons can expect a “clean business, professionally run.”

“My partner has gas stations in Elburn, Sycamore and southern Illinois,” Irfan said.

Gasco also controls the retail spots in the strip center behind the gas station kiosk, but there are no plans in the works for the two vacant stores.

“We haven’t decided what to do with (those stores) yet,” Irfan said.