THE bankruptcy of a gas station company has caused 19 locations to abruptly close.

But there are signs that the stations will reopen at some point in the future.

A total of 19 gas stations operated under the Pilot brand have closed across nine states.

It comes after the owner, Mountain Express Oil (MEX), ceased all operations amid a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

These gas stations were operated as part of the Pilot network because Pilot supplied the gasoline.

That also enabled customers to use their Pilot Rewards.

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Fortunately, a spokeswoman for Pilot has said that the affected gas stations are only “temporarily closed.”

“Mountain Express Oil Co. and its affiliates are ceasing operations due to Chapter 7 liquidating bankruptcy,” the spokeswoman told CSP.

“As a result, 19 of MEX’s dealer locations within our network are temporarily closed. Pilot Co. will continue serving our valued customers at our more than 800 locations across North America.”

The affected locations are as follows:

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• Cusseta, Birmingham, Alabama
• Blytheville, Arkansas
• Kansas City, Kansas
• Laplace, Minden (two stations), St. Rose, Louisiana
• Hayti (two stations), Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
• Rockingham, Monroe, Seagrove, North Carolina
• Grand Forks, Williston, North Dakota
• Hazleton, Pine Grove, Pennsylvania
• Cowpens, South Carolina

BURNING THE MOUNTAIN OIL

MEX first declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. 

On August 25, it let all employees know that all nonessential staff would be laid off with immediate effect as a full liquidation of the company began.

MEX missed payments to gasoline suppliers, causing some station operators to close their locations and the adjacent convenience stores.

MEX had a network of 166 company-owned stores and 300 dealer-owned stores before going under.

Meanwhile, the Pilot network includes more than 750 gas stations across 44 states.

But MEX is just the latest company to fall victim to bankruptcy this year.

Many longstanding retailers have bitten the dust in 2023 in what has been described as the “retail apocalypse.”

Waves of store closures ever since the pandemic continue to affect well-known brands.

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For example, Bed Bath and Beyond closed all 360 stores in July after 50 years in business.

And Tuesday Morning failed to recover from its second bankruptcy declaration in three years, affecting 200 locations.

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