The two Irving gas stations in town — on Route 177 and Route 6 — didn’t close because of a lack of demand, but because C.K. Smith, the dealer who ran those and other sites, ran into financial difficulties.
Irving, a company with hundreds of locations in New England and eastern Canada, took over both existing Westport stations during a push to expand into southeastern New England. The company “absolutely” wants to grow in this area, spokeswoman Liza Dube said, but the future of the locations C.K. Smith managed are “uncertain.”
Irving still advertises its push into the area, including a billboard along Interstate 195 in Fall River that calls the company “new to the neighborhood.”
C.K. Smith decided to take itself out of the retail gasoline business and instead focus on home heating and cooling, Dube said. An announcement by Irving of the closure of all 23 C.K. Smith locations said the [...]

Original post by Grant Welker