Traffic is starting to build on Robe’s main street.
The town is an annual coastal mecca for thousands of holidaymakers as school students put their pens down for the year and families hit the open road for a summer getaway.
But this year, the town has just one service station — and pressure is building at the pump to meet the needs of a swelling population.
Robe Auto and Marine proprietor Mark Ramsay said the town had four service stations about 30 years ago.
"But now, we're the last one standing," Mr Ramsay said.
The site of the former Caltex service station has been vacant since the business closed down about six months ago.
Mr Ramsay said family operators were being forced out by a rise in "mega petrol stations" with a host of fast food and convenience outlets attached.
"It's a very tight, marginal business," he said.
"We're operating on very slim profit margins to the point where people are shocked when I tell them what we actually make on a litre of petrol."
He said there weren't any small service stations being built anymore.
"To keep the doors open requires massive hours every week," he said.
"Some people would say you're better off buying a dairy – you might work less hours."
Pressure on the pump
Robe is home to about 1,500 permanent residents but the town welcomes up to 15,000 additional visitors during the summer season.
Mr Ramsay said he and his staff had for the past eight months been preparing for the time when they would become the only premises in town selling fuel to the public.
He said he started by looking at statistics for his business and the former Caltex station.
"I wanted to understand exactly how much fuel the town uses on its busiest day," he said.
He said he also researched the nature of sales, and the type of customers.
"A lot of customers to the other site were there for fried food and air, so when you take those customers out, we can quite comfortably accommodate the extra demand," he said.
Opportunity and expectation
Mr Ramsay said being the last remaining fuel destination in the busy holiday town was "a double-edged sword".
"People think it's this great opportunity — having a captive market, but while we do see it as positive, it also puts a lot of pressure on the team, and means we have to meet expectations day in, day out," he said.
He said he had expanded and remodeled the station's forecourt to facilitate the extra traffic, invested in an additional 20,000 litre fuel tank, expanded the service area and hired more staff.
"We will increase our trading hours from 6am to 8pm, seven days, and we also have a 24-hour fuel machine," he said.
"I'll be here being a traffic warden, making sure everything flows smoothly.
"We are very confident we'll be able to fill everyone's tanks."
