I've noticed several gas stations pop up in my area lately, and I don't quite understand what's going on.  I've seen little places like Delta and A-1 in the past, and I can conclude by their low prices, lack of pay-at-the-pump, and poor physical layout that they're locally owned and operated and have nothing to do with any of the major oil companies.  But just recently, two separate companies have done things a little differently.  A place called "Snono" took over a station that was previously run by Mobil.  It kept all the same colors and basically looks like somebody made a misprint ("Snono" doesn't exactly feel like a familiar word).  Other than that, it looks like a legitimate gas station, and it would make sense if it had ties to a larger company like ExxonMobil.  In another area, a station called "Woroco" appeared where a gas station had been previously but had shut down* several months ago.  It seems Woroco is a NJ-area oil company with colors strikingly similar to Texaco's, but as far as I can tell, there's no affiliation.  I just think it's weird that an unknown company can come into an area, build a huge gas station or take over an existing one, and sell gas without going through one of the big guys. 

*On a separate note, how can a gas station possibly shut down?  If you have a product everyone wants, you overcharge for it, and you're in a high-traffic area that's easy to see and find, how can you possibly not make a profit? #business