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Proudly Local Business: Pincher Creek Shell Station and Downtown Liquor Store

Vision Credit Union • Sep 16, 2021

Jigna Patel shares how Pincher Creek is the perfect home for their family and their business aspirations

"We want to serve our customers for a lifetime, not one time."

When you come across this kind of business, you can tell the difference from the moment you step through the door. It’s the well-stocked shelves and the inviting product displays, the cheery lighting, the scrubbed surfaces and the warm welcome. It’s what a business looks like when it’s being operated with pride, care and an eye to the future.


Hiren and Jigna Patel own two such businesses in Pincher Creek – the Shell gas station off Highway 6 and the Downtown Liquor Store on Main Street. For Hiren and Jigna, both of these neat-as-a-pin retail businesses are an investment in their community and in the life they want to build for their family.


Back before Hiren and Jigna moved their family to Pincher Creek, both were employed by WALMART in Calgary. Hiren was the assistant store manager and Jigna, a licensed optician, worked in the optical department. While the couple saved and soaked up management lessons from their employer, they planned for a future of owning their own business. Eventually, they heard about an opportunity to purchase a gas station on a prime location in Pincher Creek.


“We…wanted a place that would be busy year-round; where there was opportunity,” says Jigna. “We noticed that Pincher Creek was a tourist area, and that demand for services seemed to be consistent.”


The couple also noticed that Pincher Creek was the kind of community where they wanted to raise their son. “It’s a small town and people are really friendly. We liked the beautiful surrounding area, attractions and mountains and all the outdoor activities.” 

Hiren Patel Pincher Creek Shell gas station Alberta

The couple approached commercial banks to help fund their new venture but found that the big banks “weren’t helpful.” Then, they contacted the folks at the credit union in Pincher Creek who saw a good investment in Jigna and Hiren’s business plans. With that support, the couple purchased the Pincher Creek Shell station on February 14, 2019. “The credit union has helped us a lot,” says Jigna. “Whenever we knock on their door, they’re always ready to help.”


It wasn’t long after opening the Shell station that Jigna and Hiren knocked on the credit union’s door again – this time to purchase a liquor store on Main Street. By early 2020, they were working hard at the store, applying the same care, pride and business strategies they’d used to help make the Shell station successful. 


The couple meets around their coffee table every morning to discuss the plans for the day. At the end of the day they focus on the priorities for the next day, such as ordering, cleaning, promotions and calling vendors and so on. It’s a future-focussed approach that would seem equally at home in a corporate head office. “We want… to serve our customers well and make sure they are happy. We want to serve our customers for a lifetime, not one time,” says Jigna.


Most days, Jigna typically manages the liquor store and Hiren manages the Shell station, but from time to time, Jigna will helps out at the station, which she enjoys. The location affords a breathtaking view of the mountains and wind turbines west of Pincher Creek.


“When I work there, I always say to Hiren that I got paid $2 million dollars today because I got to see that view all day.”
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