Since 1981, Welch’s Stop N Shop in Oakdale, Louisiana, has been dispensing fuel, food and love to its customers. “My mother-in-law, Elsie Welch, started the store and my husband, Andy, grew up in the store,” said Melissa Welch, who owns the store with Andy. “Local folks still fondly call the store Miss Elsie’s because she was so loved by the community.”

Andy worked in the store as a teenager, stocking and mopping floors, and Melissa occasionally did the payroll and other tasks after they married. That sense of family ownership prompted the couple to purchase the store from Andy’s mother in 2000 when she retired.

While the Welches kept much of what made Stop N Shop popular with locals, they also put their own stamp on the store. “With Andy’s background in trucking, we were able to expand the offerings and change some things to make the store more modern and accommodating,” Melissa said.

Reaching the Community

The Welches continued Elsie’s tradition of investing in the local community.

“We do a lot for the community because we love our community,” Melissa said. For example, the store recognizes “elementary school students of the month,” and gives them a coupon for a “hunk” (a fourth) of a pizza to celebrate their special moment. The Stop N Shop logo adorns banners and t-shirts around town, supporting schools, sports teams and local events.

Melissa stocks inexpensive and trendy candy and toys, like slime lickers, to give to kids who come in with a good report card or other scholastic success. During the holidays, Santa will drop by on the Coca-Cola truck with prizes for the kids, and around Easter time, the store’s “little bunnies” can hop to the counter for a prize. “We try to keep the kids happy with these little items, and we expanded our children’s section to accommodate more of these products,” Melissa said.

In addition, the store raises funds for the local animal shelter. “There are a lot of stray dogs in our area and our daughter is passionate about helping these animals,” she said.

Truckers are a core customer for Stop N Shop. The store’s 10 gas pumps and separate fast fuel diesel/DEF area, as well as a pump with off-road fuel, caters to professional drivers, loggers and farmers. Andy expanded the truckers’ section with more automative items, plus added a shower. He bought an adjacent piece of land to offer more parking for larger vehicles, which allowed his and Elsie’s design for a separate, heavy duty fueling area to come to life. “We recognized the need for a well-lit parking lot that could accommodate trucks,” he said.

On the Menu

Stop N Shop was already drawing in customers with its Hunt Brother’s Pizza and Krispy Krunchy Chicken foodservice franchises, but Melissa added additional healthy food options, like salads and grilled items, to the selection. “We have new lunch specials and some evening specials, like the ‘after church special’ of a combo pizza/tender meal for families,” she said. Chicken and dumplings and lasagna are two well-received lunch specials.

One popular foodservice item is the chicken bombs—a chicken tender wrapped in bacon with a jalapeno slice in the middle. “These are our own creation and we always sell out when we offer them,” Melissa said. But the biggest draw is the homemade hamburgers and beef stew. “We also have homemade cinnamon rolls, banana pudding bread pudding bars and bundt cakes that fly off the shelves,” she said.

Outside the Box

The Welches said the best advice they have for creating a unique experience for customers is to think outside the box. “Try to think about the customer in everything you do,” Melissa recommended. To find new ideas, she visits the NACS Show and other food shows. “Some of our most popular items are [ones] that I found at one of those shows,” she said. For example, children’s cups that light up with sparkles, large tumblers and candles to eliminate pet or smoke odors have been popular additions to Stop N Shop’s inventory.

At the end of a visit, she wants customers “to feel like they left a family member’s house, like they have been well taken care of, appreciated and they recognized we value them,” she said. “This is really a small town, and we’re the local, welcoming store that everyone’s been coming to for years—some all their lives.”