‘I LEARN FROM THE PEOPLE AROUND ME’
Still in high school, 17-year-old becomes owner of Danbury gas station
DANBURY — Among his friends, Danny Eljamal is known to stop into gas stations to analyze what they do well and what they could do better.
He’s an expert because he’s helped with his family’s deli and gas stations since his early teens and has spent summers managing his brother’s gas station in Florida.
“I learned at a young age,” said the 17-year-old from Harrison, N.Y. “It was built into my brain.”
Now, Eljamal is the owner and manager of a Mobil gas station at 112 Newtown Road in Danbury. The senior at Harrison High School in New York juggles school work, serving as his school’s president and the 45-minute commute to Danbury, where he’s enjoying supporting customers and the evolving nature of the job.
“Honestly I really like the business,” he said “I find it extremely interesting. There’s so many different components, and you always have something to do. There’s always something you could be improving. There’s always something you can change. There’s always new trends.”
He picked up his entrepreneurial spirit from his family.
His father, Sammy Eljamal, bought his first gas station out of high school and for almost 30 years has operated Shell, BP, Mobil and Gulf service stations throughout the tri-state area.
His grandfather, who immigrated to the United States from Palestine, ran candy and potato chip routes in the Bronx, N.Y., before getting into the gas station business.
“I learn from the people around me,” said Eljamal, who is one of four siblings. “That’s the way I’m able to do this at a young age.”
His parents got he and his siblings involved in the family busi
ness when they were around 12 or 13. They learn every aspect of the business, from making sure the store is clean, to working the register, to communicating with vendors, said his mother, Haifa Eljamal. So she said it’s not a surprise that her son is running this station.
Haifa Eljamal said her son is a hands-on person who is good at working with customers and employees.
“Danny is a very people person,” she said. “Not only does he know how to communicate with people, but he honestly enjoys it, and Danny, God bless him, will always have a smile on his face, so people tend to love him.”
While his 22-year-old brother Adam has the gas station in Miami Beach where he attended college, his 19-year-old sister Jeannine attends Fordham University and runs her own store. He has a 13-year-old brother, Issa, too. Danny Eljamal plans to study accounting at Fairfield University in the fall.
“Not only do they have a college degree, but they have something else to fall back on,” his mom said.
‘Dream’ gas station
Danny Eljamal went from making sure products displayed properly at the deli when he was in seventh grade to helping manage his brother’s gas station in Miami Beach during the summers while his brother was home in New York.
Running this particular gas station in Danbury was a “dream” of his father and his grandfather, who died in January, Danny Eljamal said.
“That’s one thing that definitely motivates me a lot is my grandfather,” he said. “He’s always taught me since I was young so much about the business, I can’t even explain.”
The family had been working on purchasing the store from the former owner before his grandfather died. Danny Eljamal recalled checking out the station with his dad at 10 p.m. one day and having a vision for the store. “I fell in love with it,” he said. The gas station itself is technically owned by Global Partners LP, who are considered his landlord, but the family purchased the business itself, he said.
He has five employees, not including himself, who work at the store, and is supported by
“Honestly I really like the business. I find it extremely interesting. There’s so many different components, and you always have something to do. There’s always something you could be improving. There’s always something you can change. There’s always new trends.” Danny Eljamal
his family’s business team. He plans to remodel and expand the store, with a new floor, ceiling and food services.
Inspired by his family’s donations to local causes, he aims to get involved in the Danbury community, too.
Danny Eljamal took over the gas station March 9, amid surging gas prices in Connecticut and the country. Each day he reviews notifications from his suppliers about the latest price to see what he must charge. He’s relieved the governor paused the state gas tax, giving customers a 25 cent break at the pumps.
“I’m always praying it goes down,” he said. “The business obviously is similar, people need gas, but just being a citizen, a person, I don’t want it to be sky high.”