Freedom Fuel Network Opens First Station

The Freedom Fuel Network was registered in Delaware on June 23 with documents signed by Randy Brown and Yoni Gontownik. President Donald Trump promoted the chain on Truth Social on July 1, calling the Northeast retailer a "VERY smart" operator that would return gas prices to record lows.

The White House posted on X days later to mark the opening of the first station in Dresher, Pennsylvania, and released a video of patrons waving cash outside a store decorated with American flags and a golden eagle logo.

Brown is a senior special teams coach with the Baltimore Ravens and former mayor of Evesham Township, New Jersey. Gontownik is a former investment director at Mercuria. Fourteen of the 25 stations are controlled by companies linked to Shamikh and Syed Kazmi.

Shamikh Kazmi leases eight stations from Blue Owl Capital, which owns about a third of the Freedom Fuel properties and leases the stores to independent contractors. A federal judge in New Jersey ordered the Kazmi brothers in February to pay more than $600,000 to a fuel supplier after finding they unlawfully took over 230,000 gallons in August 2021.

Syed Kazmi also faces a $380,000 judgment from a 7-Eleven suit over unsanitary conditions and missing inventory at a prior franchise.

The chain launched last month and advertised regular gasoline at $3.47 per gallon. A Bensalem, Pennsylvania, station sold fuel for $3.82 per gallon on Thursday, 27 cents below a nearby Sunoco. Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores said the price likely reflected a short-term loss.

Trump previously held up to $25 million in Blue Owl stock but has sold almost all of it, according to his most recent financial disclosure. The White House stated that the administration is not involved in the company and has provided no funding. The Freedom Fuel Network credited Trump's endorsement for its growth on its website.