SAN ANGELO – A former popular bait, tackle and convenience store near Twin Buttes Reservoir has reopened on US 67 South.
Pre-Ez convenience store, located at 8793 US 67 south at the corner of US-67 and Twin Buttes Marina Park Rd. south of San Angelo is now open. Many people may remember the store when it was named, SHOTS convenience store, then Town and Country bought the store. It was closed down about a decade ago and sat empty for years.
Satvir Singh, the owner of Pre-Ez, said he opened the location after he and his family would go to Twin Buttes and see the store. “I always used to ask my wife, ‘Why is this (store) closed?’ so we started looking into and we were like, ‘This needs to be open.’”
The first step was opening the fuel pumps and stocking the retail items inside the store. The next steps are to bring some kind of food into the store and to stock live bait for fishermen.
“I think food going to be crucial,” Singh said, “I’m still not able to attract the morning people who use US 67 to go to Big Lake and the oil fields. A lot of them don’t know about it.”
As far as gas goes, Pre-Ez is one of, if not the only store in San Angelo that has 93 octane gas. The 93 octane gas is a premium gas with a high octane level that some luxury or sport cars and off-road vehicles require. Most of San Angelo offers the 91 octane gas.
When talking about the 93 gas, Singh brought up that he very well may be the only store in San Angelo that offers 93.
“I think a 50-mile radius. That’s what people have been telling me,” he said.
Customers also ask Singh often, 'where is the live bait.' When SHOTS occupied the location, the store owners then had bait tanks, along with worms and shelves of bobbers, weights, and other tackle.
“This used to be a bait store,” Singh said, “I think there are only two stores in San Angelo that sell live bait, like minnows and stuff.”
Right now, Pre-Ez has worms, frozen bait, and tackle for sale. You can expect live bait very soon.
“Live bait is starting on Friday. It’ll be here this weekend.” Singh said.
Singh also offers kayak rentals for $10.00 to $15.00 dollars an hour or $45.00/$60.00 a day.
Several businesses have closed their doors or moved from the area. In the same parking lot, there is the old Safari Studios location. Now with Pre-Ez open, you have an easy stop on your way out of town or when you’re heading home.
The new store owner has ideas why this area isn't thriving — at least not yet.
“One reason is the speed is so high. It’s so hard to notice it. It’s not visible enough,” said Singh, “If you’re going out of town, we are visible. But when you’re getting into town, it isn’t. I’m thinking about putting a sign back up so that people know, especially the visitors who are not used to the area.”
Singh has big plans for the location. At the top of a hill right before you go down towards Twin Buttes, Singh's property extends from the store to the road that crosses the railroad tracks.
“I’m trying to liven this place up. Everything closed here and I feel like this place has a lot of potential. Once people start stopping here. I’m talking with somebody so that we can barbecue here on the weekends,” Singh said. Now removed, the property had a big barbecue pit behind the store. “In the evenings, the view is nice and you can see the lake.”
The lake running dry is a concern, but Singh wants the location to be a compliment to Twin Buttes and not depend on it completely. “The idea is not to be just a lake store. So I need to attract the highway and normal commuters and make the lake crowd a plus. That’s what I’m trying to achieve.”
According to Google, Pre-Ez is open from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Sundays.
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