10/22/2026
Making the decision to buy a business does not come lightly, especially with the prices 2026 has brought us all. There’s many, many conversations, many numbers discussed and a huge leap of faith. While there was many involved in this leap, to come at a later time, Brad was a huge voice. Many personal/business conversations, many trips to Wagner to help teach/fix things just so we didn’t have to call in tech, and a few special trips back to Wagner with fuel when we’ve had an influx in sales, AFTER, they had already delivered that day. Day or night he has always answered.
When you buy fuel from us, you’re not only supporting us and our local communities, you are also supporting another business man that truly cares about his customers and his customer’s customers.
Brad AND his team are truly the best and deserve all the good they’ve received and will continue to receive!
Article 'Our People - That's Gerstner Oil Right There', posted in Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan on October 20, 2026 by Jay Gravholt
A Team Approach And A Commitment To Strong Customer Service Have Allowed This Longtime Yankton Business To Succeed And Grow.
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Nearly 50 years ago in 1977, Rudy Gerstner bought out Rhian Oil, located on the corner of Douglas Avenue and Second Street in the Meridian District.
That small business he purchased in the late ‘70s blossomed into a regional fuel powerhouse over the years, branching out across South Dakota and Nebraska.
Gerstner retired in 2022 and sold the business to Brad and Heather Hofer. Heather is Rudy and Kathie Gerstner’s granddaughter.
Brad spoke to the Press & Dakotan about the history of the business, how Rudy started out, built the business and what’s in store for the future.
THE BEGINNING
Hofer spoke about how Rudy just started out small and did what came natural after that.
“He was over there where Willa B’s and Elkhorn Valley Bank are now,” Hofer said. “There was a gas pump there. He did oil changes. He sold cars out of that and had a tank wagon and a fuel delivery business out of there. Basically, back in those days, every town like Yankton had maybe four or five or six guys like him, and he just kept buying competitors, absorbing them and their customers, and growing (to) where we are now.”
Hofer said he was happy he and Heather were able to make the purchase and keep it in the family.
“I think Rudy always imagined somebody from the family coming back to run it, and you know how that goes sometimes,” he said. “They leave South Dakota, and it’s hard to get back.”
But for Heather and Brad, the opposite was true. They both were away from South Dakota for several years and were glad for the opportunity to be in Yankton.
Hofer said he and Heather talked about keeping the business in the family and making the purchase. They then pitched it to Rudy.
“Then I started to work for Rudy in May 2019,” he said. “My wife Heather is originally from here, we love the area and we came to Yankton a lot anyway. So, that’s when we really started working on a plan. We started coming down weekly even before I started working with him to just learn the business and learn from Rudy.
Hofer said those first couple years were a bit tough as he was commuting back and forth to Tea. Heather and Brad have twin boys who were juniors in high school at the time and wanted to finish high school in Tea.
Although he didn’t care for the commute, the ends justified the means.
“I could do it because I knew there was an end date,” he said. “It was 140 miles every day on top of a 10- to 11-hour day in Yankton. That’s tough. That end date finally came on May 1, 2022. We signed the purchase agreement, and we bought Rudy out.”
Hofer was quick to point out that although Rudy is retired, he stops in frequently and is a great resource for his knowledge of the industry. Rudy has a milestone birthday coming up as he will turn 90 next year.
CURRENT EMPLOYEES AND VETERAN EMPLOYEES
Gerstner Oil still employs many of the original staff. The two current office managers — Alice Rehurek and Judy Jensen — have been with the company since Rudy founded it.
“They’re amazing,” Hofer said. “All of our employees are top tier, and they need to be in order to be successful in a tough business.”
Gerstner Oil has two tank wagon drivers in Gerrit Dykstra and John Schaff. Both have been with the company for over two years. Meanwhile, Darren Fuhrer is the company’s oil and lubricants specialist and has been with Gerstner Oil for more than 30 years.
“You know, this group at Gerstner is the definition of a team,” Hofer said. “You have to treat your employees well, and they have to treat our customers well. We’re fortunate with the staff we have that we know our customer service is top notch.”
The Gerstner Oil gas station is run by Rhonda Bolton, Gayle Jorgenson and Mel Harris, who are all long-time employees.
In all, Hofer employs 10 people who fill various roles with the company.
The business expanded greatly under Gerstner’s leadership and that trend has continued under Hofer’s steady hand.
“We have Triple Time Rudy’s on Broadway, the Gerstner Oil station on Highway 50, and then we bought the station in Gayville. We reopened that as ‘Flatlanders’ with our partners Brandon and Kelly Frazee of Yankton. Brandon has worked for Gerstner for over 15 years.”
The same partnership has also purchased Countryside Gas and Grocery in Allen, Nebraska.
The growth of the company includes as far west as Winner; into the northeast Nebraska communities of Crofton and Creighton; over to Vermillion to the east; and up north to the Viborg/Hurley area.
Hofer pointed out a new vehicle Gerstner Oil just purchased which allows their drivers to pump off bulk engine oil and hydraulic fluid for farmers, truckers and mechanics who need it.
“That’s a new thing we’ve added in the past couple of years.”
“Darren, our oil manager, delivers to a farm account or a mechanic shop where he can fill the tanks,” Hofer continued. “The days of the drums of oil are fading. Now, we want to put it in a container and then pump it off as they need it. Customers are getting away from those heavy 55-gallon drums.”
PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF FUEL
When asked what he expected to see down the road, or maybe even sooner, he believes higher ethanol content in gasoline is likely.
“In gasoline, there’s a push for E15, 15% ethanol, to become the new standard gas, as opposed to E10,” Hofer explained. “Then you throw in the biodiesel, which would be the soybean oil that they can mix with diesel. Those are a couple of products that I think are exciting for our area here because we grow so much corn and soybeans. And using more of these products creates less reliance on crude oil.”
Another factor in Hofer’s planning is the increasing fuel efficiency in cars.
“You know, we’re going to have to learn to maneuver as vehicles keep getting higher and higher fuel efficiency,” he said. “We know that we’re going to keep selling less and less of our product as vehicles become more fuel efficient.”
SPECIAL DRIVERS
Long-haul gasoline truckers have extensive testing, certification and background checks to confirm they’re capable of the responsibility of hauling 9,000 gallons of highly flammable liquid down the road with them.
“It’s a hard job,” Hofer said. “People think you just get in and drive somewhere but it’s much more than that. These guys are managing each truck going on the road (and) can have four compartments with four different products in there. The way they’re routing that product, they have to make sure that what’s coming out of that truck is going into the right tank.
“We have excellent drivers who are extremely efficient, and they’re held to a really high standard,” he continued. “They have to have hazardous material (HAZMAT) certification, which is a difficult test; there’s a lot of information on it. You’re driving down the road with 9,000 gallons of highly flammable liquid. So, it’s vital for the driver and the truck to be extremely safe. There’s quite a lot of hoops to jump through to just to be able to legally go down the road hauling hazardous materials.”
It’s not a 9-to-5 job, according to Hofer.
“I feel like we have the best drivers,” he said. “This week, there were intense shortages at our pipeline of gas and diesel. I’ve had my guys working all kinds of crazy hours. Heck, I have my HAZMAT. I jump on with the Class A license, as well and help out when it gets crazy like this.
“On a normal delivery, such as going over to Triple Time Rudy’s, we can load that gas at the terminal, get over there and get back in 45 minutes. Well, if there’s nothing there, now we’re taking a 45-minute delivery and we’re turning it into a three-hour delivery because we’re having to go to LeMars, Iowa, to get product, right?
“So, those guys are really, really, good at what they do. There are some days when we don’t have a lot of deliveries. And then some days they might have a 14-hour shift. We try not to be too extreme, but it’s tough at times to make sure our customers don’t run out of fuel.”
Hofer’s transport drivers are Brandon Frazee and Chad Clement.
“Our people — that’s Gerstner Oil right there,” Hofer said. “I’d like to emphasize just how important the employees are in building a great organization like this. You have to have people that put the organization first and treat it like it’s their own. That’s why our employees are all so customer focused. If there was one thing that always came up in everything that I’ve done in my life, it’s that if you take care of those customers, everything else falls into place. If you’re taking care of customers, your operations and financials look good. If you’re taking care of customers, your safety looks good. Everything handles itself if you start with the basics of customer service.”
Hofer wanted to add more accolades to his team.
“The other aspect of a great team is the willingness to pick each other up and pick up the slack and not keep score,” he said. “It’s like a great marriage. And when you have that, boy, that’s a strong team. Through our growth, we have added employees that share that ‘team first’ mentality and attitude. They’re accepted just like that because they have that same work ethic and drive that the current team has.”
“So, they know we’re building a winning contender. It’s much like baseball and that clubhouse culture.”
The culture behind the scenes puts the winning team on the field.
