Bear Oil Company can trace its roots as a petroleum marketer in San Antonio to the mid 1930s. Founded by George W. Johnson, Bear Oil Company, began serving local gasoline stations with both fuel and lubricants. In the1950s, Nettie R. Johnson and George T. Johnson (George W.’s wife and son, respectively) ran the company. In 1960 the company was purchased by J.E. “Jim” Engelman and incorporated in the same year. In 1967, Bear Oil Company moved from 1631 South Laredo Street near the Union Stock Yards to its present location on North Loop Road near the San Antonio International Airport. In April of1991 Nelson Grona purchased the company.