Comings & Goings
For 24 years, he filled 'em, fixed 'em
Owner shuts station he built offering good service

By Aldrich M. Tan
aldrich.tan@indystar.com

July 7, 2006

Since taking over his service station at Stop 11 Road and Madison Avenue in 1982, Bill Lewis has tried to keep a full-service tradition alive in a self-service era.

"I like serving people," said Lewis, 52. "My customers are like family."

Last week, he served his last customer. At the Lewis Stop 11 BP service station, the pumps have been removed, the windows covered with boards and the service bays emptied.

He operated one of the last full-service gas stations on Indianapolis' Far Southside. Most customers pumped their own gas, sure, but they also could get their cars fixed.

That made it a relic in the modern corporate model as Lewis operated the station for Amoco and, most recently, BP. The station closed June 30, and BP intends to sell the land.

Lewis grew up with a father who was a dealer for a Standard Oil gas station on Holt Road. Back then, Lewis said, attendants focused on serving everybody.

"Someone would fill your gas tank while others cleaned your windows and windshield," he said.

Such services dwindled as self-service pumps became available in the 1970s. When he took over the Stop 11 station, Lewis wanted to keep the tradition going by offering car repairs.

Employees worked on the cars of various state agencies, including the Indiana State Excise Police, Lewis said.

Some regulars stopped in daily for gas or coffee. Others came back because of Lewis' honesty.

Richard Steininger remembers one time he brought his car to Lewis' station, worried something might be wrong with the vehicle's U-joints. Mechanics found nothing.

"And they didn't charge me for it," Steininger said.

Other repair companies charge inspection fees.

"I just don't feel right charging something like that," Lewis said.

"He believes in treating people fairly," Steininger said.

In April, Lewis received a letter from BP saying the company would not renew the station's lease. He tried to buy the property, he said, but the company was not interested in keeping it as a service station.

"The company itself doesn't offer auto repair anymore," said BP spokesman Scott Dean.

"We are focusing much more on convenience."

Lewis closed another BP gas station two years ago at 7002 Madison Avenue.

He's ready to start a new job. This month, Lewis will train to become a customer service representative for BBS Wheels, a wheel manufacturer.

The company is based in Atlanta, but Lewis intends to work from Indianapolis.

On the station's last day, a few customers stopped by to shake Lewis' hand and thank him for his years of service.

"This is the only place I go, and I'm going to miss it," said Dan Tygrett, a salesman in Indianapolis. "These people really care."

Trucks arrived at 8 a.m. the next day.

Lewis took down the tags from the large gas price sign. His employees emptied the register.

Workers boarded up the windows. An orange forklift raised the gas pumps from their foundations.

Lewis tied yellow tape around one pump.

"It's like a death," Lewis said, "but you mourn and move on."

Call Star reporter Aldrich M. Tan at (317) 444-6309.
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