How Costco sells such cheap gas so cheap | CNN Business

In its 50-year history, Costco has never seen such demand for gas.

Many of its stations have been so overwhelmed that they’ve had to call in tanker trucks multiple times a day to avoid running dry, Costco said this week during its quarterly earnings call. A growing number of customers are buying just enough to top up their tanks, concerned about what tomorrow’s prices may be.

As prices have surged above $4 nationwide – and above $6 along the West Coast – Costco has become America’s destination for cheap gas. Well, relatively. Costco routinely undercuts local gas stations by around 30 cents a gallon.

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This Texas Gas Station Turned Camels and Karaoke Into a $30 Million Business | Inc.com

Texas-Gas-Station-Inline_30545Editor’s note: This tour of small businesses across the country highlights the imagination, diversity, and resilience of American enterprise.

Come for the cheap gas and tacos. Stay for the livestock and karaoke.

This is a typical Saturday night at Fuel City in Dallas. Two police officers direct traffic as cars line up for unleaded gas at $2.39 a gallon. All three taco windows are mobbed, as are the carts peddling elote en vaso (corn in a cup). Customers wander into the karaoke trailer (complete with disco ball) to belt out Tejana favorites, country classics, and oldies. Out back, longhorn cattle snooze on the ground. The zebra remains standing.

“Our slogan is ‘Where dreams come true,'” says Fuel City founder John Benda. “Maybe that’s a little corny. But that’s what I want this place to be.”

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