At 2021 Marquette Avenue, across from Muskegon Community College, the Singh family is expanding Sunny Mart and adding a fuel stop to a corner that has not had one. The family, which has run the store for 13 years, expects to begin selling Mobil gas once construction is complete.
The project adds roughly 1,300 square feet to the building and extends the parking lot, according to MLive.com. Six pumps are being installed in front of the store, closer to the road, and will dispense Mobil gas. Owner Raju Singh told the outlet he expects the station to be operating by the end of the year: “We’ll be pumping gas in January, for sure.”
A Corner Shaped by Schools, Offices, and Neighborhoods
The store is near Muskegon Community College, Baker College, Muskegon County offices, Orchard View Schools, a Dollar General and residential neighborhoods. Singh runs it with his wife and mother. It currently sells lottery tickets, alcohol, snacks and vapes; the family plans to add fuel as part of the expansion.
The family’s connection to the area predates Sunny Mart’s current expansion. Singh grew up nearby and attended Orchard View Schools. He told MLive that his father, Jaswinber Singh, has been in the corner-store business at the location longer than anyone else there. Jaswinber Singh opened the family’s other store, at 1301 East Apple Avenue, in 1996.
Car Wash Purchase Adds to the Family's Footprint
Beyond the gas station project, the Singh family bought the neighboring self-serve car wash last year. That business is currently closed, with plans to reopen in the spring, the same report notes. Combined with the store expansion, the purchase signals a broader push by the family to build out their holdings on the Marquette corridor even as construction disrupts day-to-day business nearby.
Road Work Squeezes the Family's Other Store
At the family’s East Apple Avenue store, Singh told MLive that business has fallen amid construction: work has reduced parking at the Marquette Avenue store, while Apple Avenue is closed in front of the other location. He hopes business will recover when the road reopens.
The Apple Avenue closure has affected businesses along the corridor. Michigan transportation officials closed the road from Getty Street to Muskegon Avenue starting Aug. 10; as of mid-August, the closure was expected to last through the end of the year. The work is reconfiguring Apple Avenue, also known as M-46, from four lanes to three with a dedicated left-turn lane. A 2025 report had described a proposed two-lane section specifically between Terrace Street and Webster Avenue.
Plans for the Neighborhood and Apple Avenue
The City of Muskegon’s Marquette Neighborhood Master Plan describes limited commercial and entertainment options in the neighborhood and says community nodes with a range of uses are important. For Apple Avenue, the Michigan Department of Transportation describes an approximately $18.6 million project to rebuild more than two miles of M-46, from Muskegon Avenue to Home Street.
The project’s estimated cost has also been reported differently over time. A May 2025 report put it at more than $25 million, while MDOT’s later description gives an approximate cost of $18.6 million. The available information does not explain the difference. The Singh family is waiting for the road to reopen as it develops the Marquette Avenue business.
