After 60 years, the Jones family no longer owns Jonesy’s On the Run.

Jonesy’s On The Run, located on Route 77 near the Cape Elizabeth Town Hall, was sold to RH Foster Energy on Tuesday for an undisclosed sum.

Owner Gregg Jones, who took the business over from his father, George Jones, 30 years ago, said it was one of the most difficult decisions of his life as he ended his family’s 60-year ownership of the property.

He made the decision, he said, as the economy began to lag and he felt he could no longer keep the business locally owned.

“This is very difficult for me right now,” a distraught Jones said on Monday morning. “I’ve known for a few months now that this was the right decision, but it wasn’t easy to make.”

Last July, Jones, who lives in Westbrook, completed a $1 million renovation of the store changing it from an auto repair business to an On the Run franchise convenience store.

On the Run is a Mobil franchise complete with milk, coffee, sandwiches and public restrooms. Previously, neither Jonesy’s nor the Cumberland Farms across the street had public restrooms.

Jones said he changed to a convenience store at the time because it became painfully clear he wasn’t going to survive as a garage.

He stopped servicing cars after the change, which saddened one longtime customer at the time, who said he is shocked and saddened again by the news that the business is no longer family owned.

“People feel like it’s important to deal with the loyalty factor,” said 25-year customer Ted Reiner. “It’s changed a lot, but the perception in the community was that it was still locally owned, and that meant a lot.”

Now, with a lagging economy hurting many locally owned businesses and with several gas stations in the area, especially Cumberland Farms selling gas across the street, Jones was forced to sell to RH Foster in order to keep the business alive for Cape residents, he said.

RH Foster already provided the store with gasoline as its Mobil vendor.

Jones, a Cape native, has been a part of the business for nearly 45 years working for his father and later taking it over after receiving a business degree 30 years ago.

Jones will no longer be affiliated with the store, he said, and he does not know what the future holds for him.

“The people of Cape Elizabeth have been very, very good to us,” Jones said. “This hurts a lot.”

RH Foster, headquartered in Bangor, has 20 convenience stores throughout Maine ranging from Millinocket to Bangor. Cape Elizabeth will be the farthest southern destination, said Robert Tracy, executive vice president for RH Foster Energy.

Tracy, who lives in South Portland and works mostly out of RH Foster’s South Portland office, said nothing would change at the store. It will maintain the same name, continue to sell Mobil gasoline and serve the needs of Cape residents, Tracy said.

“I know it’s been a tough decision for Gregg and his family,” Tracy said. “The market is volatile, and he’s a very close friend. We’re hoping to make the transition as smoothly as possible for him.”

Tracy is no stranger to running a business in the southern Maine area. He owns Loco Acapulco, a tanning salon on Route 1 in South Portland.

That, Jones said, was comforting as he mulled selling to RH Foster.

“They’re pretty well known in the community,” Jones said. “I know they’ll do a good job here meeting the customers’ needs.”

The new owners also plan to keep the current staff, Tracy said.

“All the changes that needed to be done were made when Gregg converted it to the convenience store,” Tracy said. “It’s going to be the same store, with the same people working there. The only change is the ownership.”

After 60 years of being in the Jones Family, Gregg Jones, whose father George Jones opened JonesyAfter 60 years of being in the Jones Family, Gregg Jones, whose father George Jones opened JonesyAfter 60 years of being in the Jones Family, Gregg Jones, whose father George Jones opened JonesyJonesy