Business of the month: Junction 37 Filling Station

Store manager, Ian Beaumont, is determined to provide customers at Junction 37 Filling Station with a unique shopping experience. The petrol station and convenience store in Howden prides itself on the often quirky and primarily locally sourced products that line its shelves.

Can you tell us about the services Junction 37 Filling Station offers?
Ultimately, we are a petrol station and convenience store however we aim to be a bit different. The shop was founded on May 14, 1930 and since then we’ve tried to provide our customers with varied and interesting stock and a friendly service.

What makes you stand out from other businesses offering similar services?
As a true independent we offer a range that others cannot match.  It would be simple to to sign up to a brand name supplier but we feel that would restrict choice and our ability to constantly source new products.  Our biggest problem is where to put all the new items we find.  Some garages have numerous rows of the same items but as we have such a vast range we often struggle for space.

Do you have any interesting facts about your shop?
Our Christmas prize draws generate quite a bit of interest – we have done competitions to win meals and overnight stays at Michelin star restaurants. Last Christmas we offered a prize of a helicopter trip for two and afternoon tea at the Devonshire Arms county house hotel. Our competitions are free to enter and we are often asked what’s the catch but quite simply, there isn’t one! We just want to get more people to walk through our doors.

From a business perspective, how do you find the local area?
As an independent we try always try to support other local businesses. We stock pies from Bubwith and Huddersfield, the quality hot drinks machine is from a Selby company, our fantastic range of cakes are from Huddersfield as are our car care products.  Sandwiches are from Leeds and newspapers are from Hook. It’s great to see businesses supporting each other and that’s the great thing about this area.

What does the future hold for your business?
We’re really grateful that we are getting busier all the time. When people come and have a look for the first time many have commented that they didn’t know we offered such a vast range of products at such low prices and they keep coming back.

Lastly, what are the main benefits you find to advertising in our magazines?
Advertising in Our Goole is really beneficial for us as it means we can specifically target local people with quirky advertisements which generates interest in the store. It’s all about getting people through the door and advertising in this magazine really helps to do that.