One in a series of articles ? ?Finding Kennedale?s Oldest Businesses??
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The owner of the P&P speaks about his business and the need to have citizen involvement.?
P&P Mart is located at 317 W Kennedale Pkwy, Kennedale, TX 76060 and has been open for business since the early 90?s. The owner, Naseem Patel and his wife, Elizabeth, are active members of the community and school. Their son graduated from Kennedale High School in 2004 and their daughter is a junior this year at KHS. {{more}}
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How long have you been here and what are some of the challenges?
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?I opened in 1992 and it?s going on 22 years now. Before that, it was the P&R Express that had been shut down for four years.?
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He said that he survived the highway expansion several years ago but he is still struggling with high oil prices.??The outside fuel business has suffered tremendously since the costs went up. It is less than half. Trucker used to be our biggest business but most them went out of business with the high cost. We use to do 55 to 60 thousand gallons a month now we are doing between 30 to 35 thousand gallons a month. Between the cost of fuel, the repairs on their trucks and the D.O.T., they [truckers] don?t make enough.?
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?The opening of the QT did not hurt our business one percentage point. It is totally different. Ours is in-town, small mom and pop. We know all of our customers. Our in store business is the same because it is our local customers. We have no plans to go anywhere.?
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Why did he choose Kennedale to open a business?
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?I chose Kennedale to open a business because it was close to my home. I live in Arlington off of Sublett Road [in the Kennedale school district]. I love a little town. Professionally I have a mechanical engineering and electronics degree.?
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?In the late 1980?s when the market crash and my wife was laid off and my dad retired and migrated here from Pakistan, we needed something to do for them. So, I started this business. Three years later consolidations of defense contractors nationwide laid me off too, but by then I was already established here.?
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You have been involved in the city activities for some time haven?t you?
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?I got involved in the city because in order to survive in a small town you had to be. In 2001 or around that time, Apache, Speed-Fab, Fort Worth Tower, P&P and several other businesses got together and we restarted the Kennedale Chamber of Commerce. We think we helped change the politics in the city for the better. I am still involved in the Chamber and serve on the Board of Directors.?
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?I have been on different city commissions and in school, we [my family] always stay involved. We sponsor two or three different programs in town. Currently, my daughter is on the City Youth Advisory Commission and my wife, Elizabeth is on the Board of Directors of the Kennedale Historical Society.?
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?I see it as just being a good citizen,? and laughed adding ?protecting our interest.?
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What would you say to anyone about getting involved or who has a concern?
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?The city can only do what citizens tell them he says with a smile. The problem is no communication from the citizen?s side to their representatives.?
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?It used to be a problem with the school board that you had to sign up before hand to speak at the board meeting but now at least you can show up, sign in and speak. The same with the city but no one speaks at any meetings whether it is the school board or the city.?
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?I would love to have some method of waking up people. Please let them know, the representatives cannot read your mind especially when you are not even there.??P&P Mart has the only in town laundromat; has been ranked as 13th in lottery sales; and, has commercial accounts and welcomes more. ?So, if you need some gas, snacks, play the lottery or even wash a load of laundry, stop by P&P Mart. ??P&P Mart is another longtime Kennedale business. ?Kennedale News urges you to support your local business.
