Southwest Florida Gas Stations Drive Dining Trends

Chefs find the low rent of gasoline stations and convenience stores enticing enough to open creative food stands.

March 02, 2016

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Some new Southwest Florida dining trends aren’t fueled by high-end restaurants powered by celebrity chefs. Many delicious dishes are being whipped up by chefs working out of small spaces tucked into gasoline stations and convenience stores, the News-Press reports.

The low rents plus low overhead have made gasoline station “gourmet” the next big thing for some area chefs. “My philosophy is fresh, fresh, fresh, no matter the setting,” Chef Jay Holland said of his Gulf shrimp, chicken wings and burger dishes at The Wing Hut, which operates out of a Marathon gas station.

“The average gas station convenience store gets about 1,200 customers per day—300 at the pump and 900 in the store,” said Jeff Lenard, NACS spokesman. “As a restaurateur, that’s 1,200 opportunities to get your menu [and] your food in front of people.”

Other chefs content to ply their wares before c-store customers include Juan Quizada, who opened Bunfire in another Marathon gas station. His menu includes carnitas or gator tail corn tortillas. Quizada wants “to bring natural, hand-made food to the fast-food market.”

Lawhon’s has been feeding customers house-ground burgers alongside fuel for vehicles since 1976. “We grind our own sausage for our scratch-made biscuits and gravy each morning,” said Laurine Belanger, who has been running the meat market/gasoline station since she was 18.

At the Gas N Snack, Bill Hattab and Bernice Loggins have been making fried chicken gizzards, livers and wings for two decades, while Metro Pizza bakes its handmade pies in huge pizza ovens at a Sunoco gas station.

“If you look at the equation for happiness, it’s all about expectations meeting reality,” Quizada said. “When there’s that added element of surprise, the hidden gem element—when you find great food in a place where you least expect it, that's the place you're going to rave about on Facebook and tell all your friends about. And I swear it tastes even better.”

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