4th Street Super Gas
First, let´s define terms. We´re not talking about a service station or a convenience store that sells gas. We´re talking about a gas station, where you go to pump fuel into your vehicle. What makes for a good gas station? Low prices and efficiency. We want to make filling up as much like a NASCAR pit stop as possible, and Super Gas shines in this area. You can do it in a series of uninterrupted motions: pull up; exit vehicle while pulling debit card from wallet; insert card into slot; load nozzle into fuel hole while computer accepts card; squeeze nozzle and hook lever into notch for hands-free pumping (a crucial feature); squeegee windows while gas flows; punch receipt button and returned nozzle to holder; rip receipt, return to vehicle and go. We assume that Super Gas also sells Twinkies and that its beer is cold, but quite frankly, we´ve never had to enter the store. And that makes it a great gas station. Oh, and the station consistently has some of the lowest prices around.
4th Street Super Gas, 8841 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg, 727-577-2580.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2004.