Bolla Market’s Bold Next Step

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- When a customer walks into a Bolla Market store, they may not realize that behind the usual offerings of coffee, snacks and newspapers is an entirely homegrown operation.

Since the company's founding in 1989 by President and CEO Harry Singh, Bolla Oil Corp. has expanded into a powerhouse operation that includes more than 90 retail sites — 28 of which operate under the Bolla Market banner — and operates multiple divisions covering nearly every aspect of the industry, including real estate, fuel supply, construction, car washes and more.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary this year, Bolla is on the verge of a brand-new venture: its first franchise Bolla Market store, tentatively scheduled to open during the first half of 2015.

The company is in the final stages of filing its franchise disclosure to get approval from the Federal Trade Commission. As a franchisor, Bolla can offer the support and consistency of an established name and branded fuel solution, and the breadth of its divisions will allow the company to put its industrywide expertise to use.

"To a point, we can almost hold their hands from building to running the sites and making money at the end," Singh told CSNews Online.

Plans are already in place for when Bolla gets the green light, but the company doesn't intend to sell franchises to just anyone.

"We have two committed Bolla Market franchisees on hand," Singh said. "Once we're official, we'll hold meetings with our existing franchisee-and-supply locations and give them the pros and cons of Bolla Market. Since we own the property, we'll be investing millions of dollars building [stores]. We want to make sure they buy into it so we're not forcing anybody to do something."

For more on Bolla's past, present and future, look in the October issue of Convenience Store News.