Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from the tri-states. In addition to this update from Maquoketa, Iowa, we will share other developments in Tuesday’s edition.

A longtime, full-service Maquoketa gas station has officially closed its doors.

Bowman Oil Co., 601 S. Main St., closed on Thursday, which coincided with the retirement of owner Bill Bowman. Bowman, 66, said he has been working at the gas station for more than 30 years.

“If you’ve seen my station, I have real old pumps,” Bowman said. “The talk is that E-15 is going to come pretty quick. None of my pumps can handle that. So I decided I might as well just end it. It would cost me way too much to update it for the age that I am.”

Bowman said his father, Hugh, and his business partner Dale Koon took over a tank wagon business operated by Harold Hayes in 1959. The pair added a full-service gas station to the property, and the business later turned into Bowman Oil Co.

Bill Bowman said he initially worked alongside his father as a partner before eventually taking over the business himself.

Bowman said he sold the tank wagon portion of Bowman Oil Co. in December to Mulgrew Oil Co., and he planned to close the station six months later.

At the time of its closing, Bowman said the business consisted of him and two part-time employees.

“My relationship with my customers was probably my survival,” Bowman said. “We’re not on a real busy highway or nothing. Thank God for the loyal people here. I just thank the customers personally for supporting me, or else it wouldn’t have made it.”

Now that he is retired, Bowman said he and his wife have a trip to Alaska planned.

“That’ll be different for me, not having to do anything,” he said.

Bowman added that he will keep the station for the time being.

“I’ve got my dad’s old car in here,” he said. “There’s 63 years of stuff. I’ve got some time to clean everything. I just want to go through it and see what’s what.”