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MOORHEAD - Richards Tesoro, which has operated at Eighth Street and Main Avenue in Moorhead for many years, will be closing at the end of business on Thursday, Christmas Eve.
Roger Richards, whose family has owned the service station for about 16 years, said they weren't looking to sell the property, but felt it was their only choice once it became clear how dramatically a planned street project would affect the business.
He said he and his family, including his son, Shane, who is head of operations for the family business, will continue to operate several other businesses in the area, including Town and Country Oil and Propane in south Moorhead and the Travel Mart station on Highway 75 in north Moorhead.
"It's bittersweet," Richards said of the decision to close the downtown Tesoro, adding he has had customers tell him they have been buying gas at that corner for many decades.
Tom Trowbridge, assistant city engineer with the city of Moorhead, said the city reached an agreement to buy the property to accommodate a road improvement project that will establish a new right-turn lane for northbound traffic on Eighth Street at that intersection.
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He said that work is expected to start early in the year and the service station is closing to allow the current owner to do some site cleanup work before work on the new traffic lane begins.
Trowbridge said the turning lane project is just one of many street improvements planned for Moorhead in the coming year, including street overlay work and sidewalk upgrades in the downtown area.
Trowbridge said once the street work is done it's likely the city will sell the remaining portion of the parcel it purchased from the Richards family.
