In Watford City, North Dakota, locals and tourists can find quick, customized service at Corner Post Convenience Store. “We offer the community a convenient location that serves quality food and offers fuel,” said manager Starla Davis. “As we like to say, we’re a place that doesn’t sacrifice quality for convenience.”

In 2018, Brady Lund, a local businessman, opened the store with the idea “to strive to make our customers’ day a little more awesome,” according to the store’s mission statement. Lund had worked for his parents’ gas station and store for years before branching out on his own with Corner Post. “He took his experience in running a gas station property and put that into Corner Post,” Davis said.

The Corner Post has a thriving car wash as well, with salt from the roads in the winter, mud from the banks of Lake Sakakawea in the summer and plenty of unpaved roads around the area.

Fresh Taste

The cornerstone of Corner Post is its fresh foodservice program. “Our kitchen puts out our own customized food products,” Davis said. Homemade fried chicken, pizza, meatloaf, tacos and other comfort foods dominate the menu. The store has a rotation of daily specials: Meatloaf Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, Chinese Wednesdays, Pasta Thursdays and Barbecue Fridays. “Everything we serve is prepared fresh each day in our kitchen,” Davis said.

The kitchen also stocks the store’s grab-and-go section with pizzas, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, salads, fruit cups, wraps and sandwiches. In addition, all of the meals can be packaged to go. “We also have four two-tops and three tables that could seat four to six people if our customers want to eat their meal on the premises,” she said.

Bright Ideas

Part of the way Corner Post in Watford, North Dakota, gives back to the community is through an on-the-job training program run by the local high school. “We get kids from this class who work in the store to learn the ropes,” said manager Starla Davis.

The high schoolers learn what it takes to run all aspects of a gas station and convenience store during their class. Over the years, several of them have graduated and returned to work at the Corner Post as full-fledged employees. “Our employees love working with these kids, who might be young but they’ve all made a good impression. It’s been fun to watch them blossom and grow into responsible young adults,” she said.

The foodservice has proven to be a big draw for customers. “While Watford City has lots of restaurants, we offer restaurant-quality food faster, which our customers appreciate,” Davis said. The store has fresh coffee, tea, iced coffee, slushies and fountain drinks too.

The store doesn’t stock wine or beer because of a North Dakota law requiring alcohol sales to be conducted in a separate location from other products. “We do have tobacco products and the usual snacks, along with a large number of protein bars, and also packaged drinks, including a huge selection of energy drinks,” she said.

Soon, the Corner Post will offer barista coffee under its own store brand. “This will be another way we can offer a more personalized experience to our customers,” Davis said.

In addition to food and beverages, the store has an extensive bait and tackle department with top-of-the-line equipment. “We’re situated near a good area for water and ice fishing, and the owner is an avid outdoorsman, so we do a brisk business in bait and tackle all year long,” she said.

The store also stocks gear for cold or warm weather depending on the season, novelty items and automotive products. “We do hats and hoodies all year long, and warm jackets and gloves in the winter and sunscreen, sunglasses and UV-protected clothing items in the summer,” Davis said.

Stability and Community

Treating employees like family has many of them sticking around for years. “We offer a very close, calm and welcoming atmosphere to staff and customers alike,” David said. “With competitive pay as well, we don’t have an issue keeping people working at our store.”

The Corner Post has become a staple in the community, providing sponsorships for many children’s and teen sports teams and schools, as well as giving donations to various charities and events. “We also participate in community cleanups, and had a cookies with Santa event this past December,” Davis said.

Each year on the anniversary of the store’s opening, it throws a bash for the community with free hot dogs and games in the parking lot. “We’re very passionate about giving back to the community,” she said.

Overall, it’s the family-oriented environment that turns one-time visitors into regulars. “A lot of our local customers have become friends,” she said. “I like to say we’re ‘Cheers’ without the beer.”