Lyndon McLellan

In 2001, Lyndon McLellan purchased a small convenience store on the side of the road in Fairmont, North Carolina and named it L&M Convenience Mart. L&M is located in one of the poorest communities in the United States; Fairmont has a median household income of $21,484[1]. When Lyndon bought it, the store was little more than a few gas pumps and a refrigerator. For years, Lyndon worked every day at the store, rarely taking a vacation. Many days, he worked from opening straight through to closing.

Thanks to Lyndon’s hard work and diligent savings, he was able to expand the store to include a restaurant, a walk-in beverage cooler and long shelves of other products. You can buy a catfish sandwich for $2.75. The store is almost as much a community center as a business. The same group of customers comes every day for breakfast, sitting and drinking coffee at the counter. Customers know Lyndon by name, and he knows them, too.