WALLOWA — There’s a new face running Goebel’s gas station and convenience store in Wallowa, but it’s hardly gone out of the family.

When former owner Garrett Mahon decided he was interested in selling after running the station for 12 years, he was looking for someone who would keep the place local.

And he found that in Mitchell Shelton.

“I fell in love with this place in high school,” Shelton said. “Garrett wanted to sell but he wanted to sell to somebody local and keep it running in the Goebel’s name. It’ll always be Goebel’s to me as long as I have anything to do with it.”

Shelton said he feels like family with Mahon.

“I was raised with Garrett’s brother,” he said.

Born and raised in Lostine, Shelton spent the past decade working for the Oregon Department of Human Services helping the aging and those with disabilities.

Noting his new venture is quite the change, he said, “It’s exciting.”

But he was ready for it.

“I was ready to be my own boss,” he said.

There’s also the tie to his own family.

He and wife, Brittany, have a daughter who’s almost 10 and a son who’s 7. Both attend Wallowa School, almost across the street from their dad’s filling station.

“I wanted to be here with my kids,” he said. “They go to school here and can come over here after school and help out. … They like to help out and do some cleaning.”

Shelton said he doesn’t really feel in competition with the other stations in the county — two in Enterprise and one in Joseph. Goebel’s is more a regular station for locals and for the regulars who return during the tourist season.

“We like to see hunters coming back,” he said. “I’ve already had bear hunters coming in.”

Spring bear season in the region began April 1 and the statewide season commences Aug. 1.

Shelton said he’s been getting plenty of help from Mahon.

“Garrett’s helping me out a lot,” he said. “He wants to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

Mahon said his decision to sell came when he decided it was time for something else.

“I’m just ready to do something different,” he said earlier this year, adding that he likely will go back to logging.

Although there are what used to be service bays in the building, Goebel’s no longer services vehicles.

“We don’t do service or oil changes,” Shelton said.

But he does keep a fully-stocked hot-case deli and fresh sandwiches to order, as well as prepackaged foods often found at convenience stores.

But it’s the customers Shelton is most concerned about.

“Building a relationship with the local customers is the most important thing,” he said.

What: Fuel and convenience store

Where: 504 W. First St., Wallowa

When: Open 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays; self-service outside those hours.

Phone: 541-886-2811

Email: sssgoebels@gmail.com