Raceway gas station on Oak Street reopened Tuesday after about two months of renovations.
Owner Donnie Miller said Monday the station now has updated pumps and a larger tank system.
"It was just time to put a new one in, update it a little bit," he said. "We added diesel and put some new dispensers in. We never carried diesel before, so we put a new tank in for diesel.
"It should be a lot better. It should be a lot more efficient, a lot cleaner. It should be faster service now."
Miller said the station's new pumps are faster than the old ones. He had a 20,000 gallon tank for unleaded gasoline installed, along with two 12,000 tanks, one for premium unleaded and one for diesel.
Miller said the renovation was slowed somewhat by weather and changes in the plans.
"We expected it to take about six weeks. It just takes a little bit of time," Miller said. "We ran into a few problems here and there, but everything is good to go now.
"We have really good prices. Since we shut it down, the prices in Conway have stayed up. We're (Conway) 20 cents higher than Little Rock. Usually we're cheaper than Little Rock. Once we get this back open, everyone should go back to more of what they used to be."
Customers at the pump on Tuesday, whether they realized the station had been closed two months or not, were relatively happy with the station's unleaded price of $3.89. On Friday, the price of gas went up 40 to 50 cents or more around the state because of a supply disruption caused by Hurricane Ike. Some gas stations neighboring Raceway were charging $3.95 on Tuesday.
Brian Cahalan of Little Rock was not aware Raceway had been closed.
"I drove by, and they had the best rates," he said.
Penny Gardner, who works in Conway, said, "They're usually the cheapest ones in town. It's probably good they updated their pumps. It's probably a large expense, but it pays off in the long run.
"When I drive by here, I do kind of miss them, because they're cheaper than everyone else, and when it goes up, they're pretty reasonable."
Tim Murphy of Enola said he is a regular customer of Raceway and was glad the station was open again.
"Most (stations) are pretty comparable in price, but they're usually a few pennies cheaper," he said.
Janice Hogue said she frequented the gas station before it temporarily closed.
"I was really disappointed when they closed down for repairs," she said. "This is the first time I've been down this way. I thought they were still closed. It looks good. I've been a customer several years. I'm glad they're open."
(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by e-mail at rachel.dickerson@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1277. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
