UPDATE: Biz Buzz blog reported the cheapest gas last week in Northeast Mississippi is in Ripley at $2.29. Click here for more at Biz Buzz.

RIPLEY - Anyone passing through the town of Ripley two weeks ago witnessed a good old fashioned price war as AB Quick Stop and the newly-opened Coleman Brothers store, separated by no more than a stone’s throw at the intersection of City Avenue South and Main Street, slashed gas prices to under $2.

The steep drop in the price per gallon sent cars racing to the pumps and customers flowed in and out of the two businesses throughout the day. Lines to the pumps began as early as 7:15 a.m., when both stores dropped under the magic number of two. Long lines remained until late in the evening.

Some customers, including, Connie Gonzalez of Blue Mountain, and filled up two vehicles. Saturday morning two weeks ago she filled the tank of her GMC Yukon at a cost of $52. "I saved $13," said Gonzalez.

As she talked about the situation, she filled up her Ford 150 XLT, a "gas-guzzler" as she called it, at a cost of $43. She said that’s well below the usual cost of $80. Thankful for her good fortune, she did however had one complaint.

"If two gas stations can sell their gas under $2, then all of them could be doing it," said Gonzalez. "Look at the lines. They aren’t losing any money." Blue Mountain College Women Head Coach Lavon Driskell was leaving for work when he saw the lines at the pump and the sudden drop in price.

"The students are moving in today, and I had to go in and help with that. I wanted to stop then, but I had to get to work and I didn’t have time to wait," said Driskell.

That was at 10:30 a.m. He returned at 4:30 p.m. and the lines were still long. He sat in line for 15 minutes before making it to a pump. The last time he stood in line for gas, he was in Madison and it was after Hurricane Katrina.

"I got up at 3 a.m. and stood in line for four hours back then," said Driskell, "but when you heard a truck was coming, you had to do it. This 15 minutes or so wasn’t bad at all." As far as the drop in prices sparking the long lines, he said it’s understandable considering the economy.

Price War

Coleman Brothers co-owner, Justin Coleman, said the situation began Friday when his store opened its doors for the first time. His store’s price for a gallon of regular gasoline began at $2.47, two cents below AB Quick Stop’s price of $2.49.

AB Quick Stop responded with a four cent drop to $2.47 and the battle for customers began to heat up. Not to be denied, Coleman Brothers dropped to $2.27 as the afternoon began. The two stores went back and forth until both marquees showed prices that hovered just above the $2 mark at closing time.

Not long after the doors opened, Coleman Brothers dipped below $2 for the first time, setting the price per gallon at $1.99. AB Quick Stop retaliated with a drop to $1.97. The prices remained unchanged for the majority of the day. In one final move, AB Quick Stop knocked off two additional cents for Saturday’s rock-bottom price of $1.95 per gallon.

Coleman said he wanted to do something special for his customers since it was the store’s first day of business.

"Yesterday (Friday) was our first day to open, so we just decided to drop our price two cents lower than AB’s price," said Coleman.

Mohamed Sufi is the manager of AB Quick Stop and he said his store’s policy is to be the lowest in any community where their stores are located and Ripley is no different.

"We are here to stay and not to go," said Sufi. "We are always the lowest in town and we were not bothered when they (Coleman Brothers) started lowering their price. We are always the lowest in town and that is our policy. Our customers know that." Coleman Brothers employee Amber Burks Hancock said that almost all the customers were appreciative, but one customer became slightly agitated with the long lines.

Anyone who didn’t make it to the pump for the bargains was out of luck by nightfall. It was reported that both stations were out of gas by 8 p.m.

Comment below and tell us about gas prices in your area.