La Mesa Arco Closes, USA Gas Could Replace

A La Mesa area Arco gas station is closing, but a replacement company could be coming to town soon.

The Sunshine Food Market section of the Arco station at 7594 University Avenue has been completely cleared of its inventory, and an employee said that USA Gas is coming in. As of Tuesday, the pumps at the station were still in operation by Arco, which is known for its comparatively inexpensive fuel.

The employee said that the La Mesa area Arco stations that are part of AM/PM Markets (on and ) will not close.

It is not known if the Arco station at and Kenwood Boulevard in Spring Valley will meet a similar fate, though as of Tuesday, inventory in its Sunshine Food Market was still in stock.

USA Gas is owned by the Tesoro Corporation, and it is unclear if they will continue the Arco tradition of low prices. The tagline on their website indicates that is part of their purpose.

"Our vision is to be the premier low-cost supplier of transportation fuels in our markets," according to their website.

Two recently began the replacement construction.

The brand switches of  these stations are a part of sell off by BP, the corporate owner of Arco, in which its Carson, California refinery and Southern California retail network of Arco stations were sold. Approximately 130 Arco stations will either become Thrifty's, USA Gas or another brand, according to a BP news release.

The loss of many Arco stations has some gas price analysts considering the affect on cheaper gas options.

A CBS station in Los Angeles quoted an Arco owner: "They [Arco] control the market because they’re low gas. So if there’s a Chevron across the street from you, they have to be close to you. Now there’s no Arco anymore, they don’t really care. They are going to work on any margin they want.”

Santee Patch editor Steven Bartholow contributed to this story.

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