New Business Profile: 4 Kids Fuel & More

Jay Trost and his wife, Charlene, had been collecting antiques for years - things like old gas pumps and signs - and wanted to open a business to display it all.
"One day I saw the For Sale sign here," Trost said, referring to the property on the northern outskirts of Concordia."
The Trosts purchased the property on December 16, 2019. "I didn't know if I was going to have a fuel station or just the building," Jay said. "We started working with Central Valley Ag (CVA), and went in the direction of opening a fuel station. It was very important that we got with CVA to be our fuel supplier."
"He was retired from farming and the gas company (One OK)," Charlene said, "but he's always doing something. He can't sit still. He always wanted to do this, so here we are."
4 Kids Fuel & More was born.
“We are really excited for this site to be open,” said Jeff Ingalls, the Senior Vice President for Energy at CVA. “It has great truck access, something the Concordia area needed, and it makes it easier for our customers to do business with us. Working with a local business person is a bonus. Jay and his family will do a great job with this site.”
The origin of the service station's unique name?
"We married later in life," Charlene said. "I have two kids and Jay has two kids, so that's how we came up with the name: 4 Kids Fuel & More. The silhouette on our sign is three boys and a girl."
The Trosts also wanted to be able to provide a convenience store and food for truckers. "The intent was to just have good hamburgers," Jay said. "Something truckers could grab and go. We interviewed managers, and Julie Marcotte came onboard. She had worked at the Sale Barn Cafe in Salina for 15 years."
Marcotte suggested they expand the menu and include fried chicken. "That was real smart," Jay said. "There's not a lot of places around here for people to get fried chicken on the road. Julie brought a lot of recipes with her, and she's really good with pies."
4 Kids Fuel & More offers gas, food, over 1100 items in their convenience store, WiFi, free parking for trucks, and indoor seating for home-cooked meals. The indoor seating is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
"When the weather gets nicer," Charlene added, "we'll have outdoor picnic tables."
The Trosts knew that opening a new business would be a tough venture, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With all the COVID problems going on," Charlene added, "it was really stressful for awhile."
Just getting the facility operational took a lot of time and effort. "Whenever you buy something that hasn't been occupied for awhile, there's always a lot of surprises," Jay said. "We put a lot of work into this place to get it ready."
The fueling station that was there previously had been closed for awhile, so highway traffic - especially truckers - were accustomed to bypassing the location without a second glance.
"This place was closed for 10 years," Jay said, "so getting the traffic to come back in was a big step. But our fuel sales for January and February exceeded our goals, and March is looking good, too."
Jay and Charlene Trost are grateful to the entire community for their support, and to the truckers who've already become loyal customers and fans.
"Being on the outskirts of town, we were just kind of surprised by how supportive the whole community has been. People drive out here to eat and get gas - to support us - because they want a family-owned business to succeed."
The Trosts wanted to give special thanks to their staff: Julie Marcotte - Manager, Taby Brown, Stacy Rugg, Shelbi Hamel, Roger Weathersbee, Teresa Higgins, Harley Hamilton, Trisha Heinzman, Justin Allen, Kiara Knox, and Jaelynn Sis.
"We couldn't have done this without all of them. They have worked so hard to get everything running. We've still got things to work on. We make mistakes, but we'll fix them. This staff works really hard, and we'e grateful to each and every one of them."
The Trosts also wanted to stress how important it was for them to be able to partner with Elk State Bank and CVA. "This fuel station wouldn't be here without the Elk State Bank and CVA," Jay said "They made this thing work. And by doing that, we were able to offer jobs to people in the community."
The Trosts intend to keep improving and expanding the service offered at 4 Kids Fuel & More. They already feature CVA fleet cards with a built-in discount, and major credit cards can be used at the pumps. "We're going to build the outside seating area. We intend to add the lottery soon, and put more items on our food menu. We'll be putting up new, bigger billboards and signage south and north of town."
4 Kids Fuel & More will hold its official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, March 16, at 11 a.m. The Elk State Bank will provide free coffee and donuts in the morning, and CVA will have free hotdogs, chips and drinks from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"We invite everyone from the community to join us for the Grand Opening on March 16," said Mallory Shoemaker, the Marketing Manager for CVA. "Random fueling customers will receive a free tank of fuel from CVA between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Fuel up and see if you’re a lucky winner!"
In addition, CVA will donate 10 cents for every gallon sold on March 16 to the Concordia FFA chapter.
4 Kids Fuel & More is located at 2087 145th Rd, just off of north 81 Highway. Their phone number is (785) 243-9644.