Protest flow minimal at Twin Cities BP stations

Online and in headlines, BP is not popular.

As oil continues to spew into the Gulf of Mexico, a Facebook page calling for a boycott of BP has more than 417,000 fans. On Twitter, multiple feeds spout anti-BP commentary.

But at Twin Cities BP stations, all independently owned, it's business as usual.

"We're staying busy," said Tony Carlson, an employee at a BP station on Medicine Lake Road in New Hope. "They know we personally have no control over it."

Out of nearly two dozen stations contacted Friday, only two said they had noticed a minor blip in sales, and one said it wasn't sure if it was because of the oil spill or a recent change to a discount program.

At the BP station on West Broadway in Robbinsdale, technician Mike Weitzel said business hasn't been affected, but customers are chatting about the oil spill. "Everybody's got a way to fix it, or they think they do, anyway," he said.

At least one protest has popped up locally, near a BP station in Bloomington on Memorial Day. Sarah Combellick-Bidney, an organizer of the group that assembled in response to fliers and a Craigslist posting, said the demonstration was about promoting clean energy, not boycotting BP. "If you want to stop the problem, you have to have better clean energy to give people actual choices," she said.

At Colonial BP on the corner of 90th Street and Lyndale Avenue S. on Friday, Doreen Gardeen stopped to fill her gas tank. "We always come here. It's locally owned."

Bill Pelletier of Bloomington likes the discount he gets at BP via the Roundy's FuelPerks program. "I don't seen any reason why BP should be singled out," he said. "It's the entire industry."

Still, some hesitate.

At the Holiday station across the street, Natalya Johnson said she won't buy BP gas until there's a plan for cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico. "What I have an issue with is how they handled the problem," she said. "Once it's fixed, we'll be back."

Sean Hoffmann, who manages three BP stations in West St. Paul, Mendota Heights and Rosemount, said the local connection and customer loyalty are important. Many BP stations have repair shops, and people know the mechanics.