TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — A local family is preparing to expands its business roots.

For 18 years, the Patel family has called Troy home. Over nearly two decades, the family has worked to turn daily transactions into lasting relationships with the people who live and study here.

“It feels so rewarding that all these years you work and all the hard work you’ve done, the relationships you have made with locals and students come here,” Ricky Patel said. “We have great support from the city and community, especially from students.

“It makes you happy, like all this work you do is not wasted. Your identity changes, you know? All I know is Beeline is there, but now it’s Ricky’s Beeline.”

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That community support has given Patel the confidence to step out on her own. Although she has spent years supporting the family business, she recently took over the well-known Trojan Donuts to fulfill a personal dream.

“Running a gas station all my life helping Ricky out, I always had a dream that I want to do something on my own,” Purvi Patel said. “This is something that made me feel like, ‘I can do this.’

“I want to give back to the community the way they have been loving us for 18, 19 years being in Troy. It just overwhelms me.”

Purvi is focused on giving back to the city that has embraced her family for 18 years, ensuring that while the shop gets physical updates, the local flavors stay the same.

“We are going to have some difficulty with two businesses at the same time but, with all this experience, we’ll do it,” Purvi said.

With two businesses to run and nearly 20 years of experience, the Patels are working to prove that in Troy, family and community go hand-in-hand.