A Local Family Business for Three Generations
Our founder, E.S.Koon, began in the oil business in Asheville back in 1922 as a distributor for Atlantic. In 1930, Gulf Oil Corporation asked that he take over as the distributor for their products and the company moved to our present location at 4 Fairview Road. The company weathered the trying times of the Great Depression and rationing during World War II. Following the war, the founder’s son, G.N. (Nick) Koon, returned from service in the Navy to join his father in the business.
The company prospered following the war expanding their services to include service stations, tires, batteries, automobile accessories, lubricants, and waxes along with the usual gasoline, diesel, and heating oils. During the oil embargo and shortages in the early 1970’s, the company worked to keep our customers in product, applying for allocations and petitioning the Federal Energy Office for emergency supplies.
In 1979, Nick’s son, Karl joined the company full time following graduation from college. Having grown up in the company working summers and vacations, he had “hands on” experience in all phases of the business. Since this time, the Company’s lubricants business has expanded to become one of the leading lubricant marketers in the western part of the state.
In early 2004, Asheville Oil Company acquired Smoky Mountain Petroleum, again expanding our range of services to include propane and HVAC service and installation. Now as the only fully integrated petroleum supplier in the area, we can truly say that we are your one source for all your petroleum or indoor comfort needs.
