Merchant Snapshot: American Eagle

Mandeep and her husband are the owners and operators of American Eagle, a gas station and convenience store in Toccoa, Georgia.  In a small country town like Toccoa, American Eagle has become a hub for the community.  Because large grocery stores or even fast food chain locations are few and far between, the citizens of Toccoa really rely on small businesses for day to day food and beverage purchases.   Luckily at American Eagle, customers can do even more than grab a quick beverage and fill up their tank.

How long has American Eagle been open?

Mandeep and her husband purchased American Eagle, a Chevron gas station, six years ago and have continued to be successful since then.

What is the customer base like?

Because of the small population and tight knit community of Toccoa, they say they have many regular customers and are familiar with most of the people who come into their store.

What has made American Eagle so successful?

While you might expect a convenience store in a small town to be lightly stocked with some essentials, American Eagle is more like a one-stop shop for almost anything you could think of, just the kind of business this small city needs.  Mandeep and her husband do a great job of keeping their store organized, clean, and full of a wide variety of items from batteries and motor oil, to milk and eggs.  American Eagle doesn’t stop at an impressive array of packaged items either, there’s a coffee and slushy counter and they’ve even recently added a deli where customers can buy hot food.  The new deli offers a variety of items like fried chicken and fish.

What other services are available at American Eagle?

Mandeep and her husband shared that they try to offer as much as possible to their customers because they know there isn’t much in the community.  They were already offering money orders and money transfer services, and now they are offering Bill Pay through goEBT’s Bill Pay program.

The addition of Bill Pay at American Eagle happened just in time, as the location where Toccoa residents were previously going to pay their bills has recently closed.  Because of this, customers immediately started taking advantage of the Bill Pay service and now Mandeep and her husband are seeing the benefits of yet another valuable service added to their business.  Today, American Eagle processes the most transactions per day of any goEBT Bill Pay store and the owners say they’re glad they made the addition.

Are their future plans for American Eagle?

When asked about their plans for the future, Mandeep and her husband both agree that they’re always open to introducing new ways to serve the community and continue growing their business, but that they are also focused on what’s working for them right now.  The couple both work in the store full time with just one other family member, who runs the deli, and their hard work and dedication shows.  American Eagle’s success in this small town can certainly be attributed to how well they cater to the needs of the community they serve.

Are you interested in goEBT's Bill Pay solution? Find out more about the solution that is helping c-stores like Mandeep's get more business!