Rio Road Gulf
In the 1960s’, Charlottesville had no mega-gasoline stations – Wawa, Sheetz, Liberty and such. There were only mom-and-pop stations that sold Amoco, Esso, Pure or Gulf gasoline. Most had 2 garage doors where they did mechanical work.
Our gas station of choice was Rio Road Gulf at the corner of Rio Road and Rt. 29 N. The station was located in what is now the upper corner of Fashion Square where the mini center with Jimmy Johns and Sports Clips now occupies.
In 1968, there was no Fashion Square Mall. It was just a big field and Rio Road Gulf was literally on the outskirts of town. But it was fairly close to the Berkley sub-division, where we had just bought out first house.
We bought all our gas and had all our cars serviced at the friendly Gulf station. They did excellent work and charged fair prices, far less that the dealerships at Brady Bushy and Jim Price Chevrolet.
It was also a must-stop place on Sundays after Church. The Rio Road Superette was located beside the station, and they sold a little of everything including penny candy and popsicles. I always made it a point to stop by the convenience store on the way home from First Presbyterian Church so that my kids would have good memories of Sundays and going to Church. I asked for 2 small paper bags and filled them with an assortment of Bubble Gum, Fireballs, Marty Jane’s, Tootsie Rolls and other penny candys. Jimmie quickly wolfed down his goodies while Angelin tended to hoard. I also bought beer and wine at the little Superette. We were poor as church mice back then and bought Boone’s Farm Wine for 99c a bottle and a six-pack of Pabst beer for about the same price. I made frequent runs to the little store for milk, bread, and eggs.
Today, most of the mom-and-pop gas stations are gone, replaced by huge Fast Food and Convenience stores that also happen to sell gasoline. You can buy submarines and chicken at these stores, but none of them sell penny candy on a Sunday after Church.
