Oil became gold for Harry Singh. Bolla Market founded by him has become the most recognized fuel and convenience store chain in the New York region. He is also giving back to the community through the Bolla Charity Foundation.
Singh is being honored for Excellence in Entrepreneurship by The Indian Panorama.
Harry Singh is the Founder and CEO of Bolla Oil Corp, a billion-dollar gas station and convenience store business. His is an exemplary immigrant success story.
He emigrated to the United States from India in 1983. Six years later, he founded Bolla Oil Corp with a single gas station in Brooklyn, NY. Harry’s entrepreneurial vision, indefatigable work ethic, and passion for excellence fueled Bolla’s impressive growth. Bolla Market is now one of the largest, and most recognized retail fuel and convenience store chains in the region.
Bolla is consistently recognized by the major gasoline brands for best-in-class facilities, marble restrooms, unparalleled retail standards, and customer service.
Bolla Market operates under major fuel brands – Exxon, Mobil, Sunoco, Bolla, Gulf, Valero, Shell, and its proprietary, upscale Bolla Market convenience stores.
Bolla operates co-branded food offerings, including Burger King, Tim Hortons, Pizza Hut, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Red Mango.
Giving back to the community
From its inception, Bolla has had a philanthropic mission. Harry, his wife, Kamljit, and children Jay and Tarnjit, care deeply about giving back to the communities Bolla serves. Witnessing firsthand the tragic events of 9/11 and assisting first responders by converting a downtown gas station into a 24-hour aid station, Harry and Kamljit developed a steadfast commitment to help first responders and veterans.
In 2013, the couple founded the Bolla Charity Foundation. It provides funding to numerous charities and holds events to benefit non-profit groups.
The Foundation was an early contributor to a building on the 7-acre First Responders Memorial Recreational Field in Islandia, NY. It also supports Toys for Tots and the Nassau County Police Department Memorial Run, raising funds for scholarships in honor of fallen officers. In 2022, the Foundation renovated a group home for 6 veterans in Levittown and renovated a 100-year-old Victorian home for 12 veterans in Freeport in 2023.
Besides, Bolla Charity runs permanent projects to help the needy in India.
News 12 profiles Harry Singh’s billion-dollar empire
News 12, the main TV channel on Long Island, ran a program in May 2021 on Harry Singh’s business success. The documentary-style program including an interview with him was broadcast as part of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Singh came to the US in 1983 with nothing more than a dream of a better life, the narrator started. “Today he runs a billion-dollar gas station business headquartered in Garden City.”
The program then proceeded to talk about his work ethic that helped him achieve his American Dream. Bolla Market has become a popular pit stop for many motorists, their customers testify. One woman said, “The food is very good here– they have everything from breakfast, lunch to dinner.”
Harry Singh says humbly in the documentary, “I am a worker, I love what I do. I have a passion for it.” The narrator goes on to add that his passion is rooted in the cultural values of his native place in Punjab. And that at age 21, he traded his small village for the Big Apple. It was to make life better, says Harry Singh. His wife, Kamljit, a nurse, shared his vision.
Singh took the opportunities that came his way, and in 1989 opened his first gas station. He shares his simple philosophy thus, “You get up in the morning, you say thank God, it is another great day in our life. Let us go and make a difference and let us make today better than yesterday.”
Singh did feel discriminated against at times for his looks, for who he was. “But I never let it take me down,” he tells the News 12 reporter resolutely.
Today Bolla Oil employs 1,800 people at over 250 sites, including gas stations, convenience stores, and fuel distribution centers.
“Work hard and you get rewarded,” Singh says. The narrator adds that Singh and his wife are now reaping the reward of their 33 years of hard work – a magnificent mansion in Old Westbury and a collection of exquisite cars.
While the Singhs enjoy the fruits of their labor, they believe there is more to life than material things. That is why they found a way to give their wealth a richer meaning. Elaborates Singh, “I believe God gave me a blessing to give, not take.”
The Singh family created the Bolla Charity Foundation to benefit people in need, recently donating a $600,000 house to a disabled veteran in Selden, NY. “We should share. We can all make this world a better place to live.”
Singh still works seven days a week with passion and gratitude, says the narrator.
“It has been an amazing ride,” Singh concludes.
