After a tornado destroyed the store last year, Clark Brands rebuilds Mentor, Minn., location.
Clark Brands is re-opening its Mentor C-store in Mentor, Minn., a little more than a year after a June 17, 2010 tornado destroyed the store.
The Mentor C-store, a local fixture off U.S. Highway 2, is once again serving customers from Erskine, Dugdale, Crookston and Fertile. The gas station is a Clark-branded location and is now housed in a facility that is totally rebuilt offering both fuel and c-store items. The team at Clark is proud to welcome the new owners of the Mentor C-store to the Clark family and extend its support of this branded customer.
The fuel station and retail store were totally destroyed by a powerful tornado resulting in the tragic loss of owner Wes Michaels, 58. Michaels died while protecting his daughter Heidi Michaels from falling debris. Wes is survived by his wife, Kathy and daughters Amy, Kari and Heidi and four grandchildren. In honor of his heroism, Clark will donate $500 to the Wesley Michaels Scholarship fund at Fertile-Beltrami High School. Todd Johnson of Johnson Oil, a local Clark marketer and fuel supplier to the Mentor C-store, will present the check to the Michaels family.
“I am thrilled to see this location re-open,” said Karl Goodhouse, president and CEO of Clark Brands. “We look forward to working with Amy and Chris Motteberg, the station’s new owners, to showcase the resilience of the independent fuel operator. While we are deeply saddened by the loss of one of ‘our own’ we applaud the efforts of the Michaels family to rebuild.”
Clark Brands owns the Clark family of brands. The company licenses the Clark gasoline brand and the Four Corners Coffee brand to independent petroleum marketers and retailers.