New gas station owners fill the tank with gas and hope
Bishop Larry Cook and Dr. Sharon Cook stood proudly on the corner of Broadway and Fremont, excited about the future to come for their church and their newly procured business. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson
By Azhae’la Hanson, Reporter
Bishop Larry Cook grew tired of the criminal activity at the gas station next to his church, Real Believers Faith Center.
So he and his wife, Dr. Sharon Cook decided to buy it.
The Cooks became the new owners of what was once a Marathon Gas Station, near the intersection of West Broadway and Fremont avenues. With the keys and inventory to the station in hand, they assumed operation on Nov. 1 and are in the process of renaming it the Lion’s Den Station.
“We're not weak. We are not a soft target,” Larry Cook said. “We are ready for any and every type of contest.”
Real Believers congregants were exposed to drug dealing and gun violence that spilled over from the gas station. The Cooks said gunfire sometimes hit the church building and drug deals took place near their property.
“They come up to me, asking me, ‘Do I wanna buy some drugs?’ ” Sharon Cook said. “I shouldn't be subjected to that.” Larry Cook bought the property to do more than disrupt crime. It had been his mission to own it since the church opened its doors in 1998. He believes Northsiders should have a real stake in economic power in their own community.
Dr. Sharon Cook is excited to revamp the store with new products, but her favorite snack will remain in the isles. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson
Back then, Cook laid his hands on the gas station, which was then a car wash, and prayed to one day own the property. “I said we need to have this,” he said about the prayer. But the time wasn’t right. The church congregation consisted of eight people.
He dedicated the next 24 years to developing a team that he could rely on, a team that shared Cook's commitment to the ministry and to the church's vision for the neighborhood.
Today, the gas station is fully staffed by that team. Real Believers Faith Center averages 200 Sunday attendees and 500 registered members. Under their ownership, the gas station is one of few Black owned gas stations in Minneapolis.
“We're glad it's for profit,” Cook said. “So we can hire our own people, hire people in the community and then also benefit from the economics of it. That makes our church stronger and makes what we do stronger.”
The gas station will soon accept EBT as a form of payment for select items, and will feature more than just gas beauty supply, cultural wear and hot food. They plan on buying and leasing out the Krispy Krunchy Chicken restaurant that is attached to the station and changing it to the Lions Den Cafe.
If successful, they want to franchise the Lion’s Den station to other parts of Minneapolis.
Along with bringing financial wealth to the church, Cook wants to use his new economic power not to push crime doers off the block, but to bring them into the house.
“I know what drugs do to our children. I know what they do to our community. I know the element that it brings. There’s a reason why we have shootings and a lot of times we will demonize the guys that are in front of it, and we’ll say they have no value.’ Lock them up and get rid of them.’ That’s not my opinion at all. I am those guys. ”
It’s what he says he has always done, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
When Cook sees people committing crimes on the property, he doesn’t see the enemy. He sees someone who doesn’t have hope.
He doesn’t want anymore bullets to hit the church and he doesn't want drug dealers to sell on his property. He also wants to see those people make it because some of his church members were once like them.
“I want to see their lives change,” Cook said. “I have a whole church full of guys that have been changed that used to do that same thing. And I look at those guys now and they're priceless to me.”
Cook’s assistant pastor first came to the church 11 years ago. He was a gangbanger with a black eye that day. One of the deacons used to sell drugs and another church member Cook trusts with many responsibilities used to rob houses.
“These guys are not throwaways,” he said. “We need ministries that are willing and not scared to engage in our community, and not be judgmental when you're looking at people that don't have any hope.”
Kameron White, a member of the church for 10 years, is currently being trained to work at the gas station.
“Bishop Cook is being that light for people,” White said. “So when they come in here, you know whatever they have going on out there, when they come here, they feel a sense of security.”
That sense of security is what White sought when he felt he had no direction when he came across the church as a teenager. He’s looking forward to making people feel welcome, and improving the gas station's reputation.