An institution in the Pleasant View area of Shelby County is coming to an end this week as Mike McCalip will be locking up McCalip’s Service Station one last time this Friday.

After six decades, the business located at 12740 E. Southeastern Ave., Fairland, will have new owners as Indy Quick Stop has bought the service station and will brand it as a Shell gas station.

“It is bittersweet. I am going to miss the people, and I appreciate the business we have been in for almost 60 years. It has been a great run, but I am 65 and it is time. My wife and I will go to Florida, be snowbirds and that’s what we want to do. I’ve worked hard all my life and it will be time to go. I want a new chapter in my life,” Mike McCalip told Giant FM.

McCalip came to work for his father, who started the service station, when he was a child and took over the business in 1984 after his father died.

“My wife and I have owned it for almost 36 years and we grew the business. I always wanted to do it and make it bigger. We bought the property next door in 1987 and added on. My dream was to always make it bigger,” McCalip said.

And, that’s what he did with the help of many workers and a community that has shown up every day the station has been open for coffee and to catch up on the latest talk in town.

“It has been a daily thing for years. They are here, and I know the times people come and go. Stop just stop in for a cup of coffee and say hello and are gone. I have people who are retired that come here every day for a few hours and if they aren’t here by a certain time, I call. It’s been special. I will miss the customers who have become friends,” McCalip said.

Those customers and friends have helped the business back from a horrible time where the Covid-19 pandemic impacted business earlier this year.

“We had the worst month in business in March when the pandemic hit. We are back to about 90 percent, but it was tough the first month. I am very fortunate in the business I am in that people need their cars and gas. We have been fortunate, but I have friends in the restaurant business that have struggled. We’ve been blessed and when things got tight, people were still there for us,” McCalip said.

McCalip and his staff will be holding a customer appreciation day Friday, Nov. 13 from noon until 2 p.m. at the station.

“At 2 p.m., it closes. It’ll be sad. It will be real tough walking out the door the final time, lot of tears will be shed I can tell you that right now. It’s tough to talk about now and it will be tough that day. I have no complaints, and am a happy man. We had the business for sale and I was off for four weeks after getting Covid and did a lot of soul searching. It didn’t make me speed it up or slow down the decision to retire. I’m 65 and it’s time to slow down and smell the roses,” McCalip said.