GREGORY, Texas — To residents within the small San Patricio County city, the long-shuttered Stripes nestled between busy highways has made life a little easier with its grand re-opening earlier this week.
Long-term Gregory resident Angie Cuevas said not having a gas station within the city for two years introduced some challenges.
“We had to make sure to gas up and make sure you have enough gas in the morning so if you need it, go gas it up before you go to bed,” Cuevas said. “We really needed it. It’s been a long time coming.”
Piper Scott, a spokeswoman for Stripes Stores, highlighted the addition of a Laredo Taco Company within the store, a total of 12 gas pumps, and added that thier location is part of a new concept for the company.
“We rebuilt from Hurricane Harvey, and we are just glad to be back in the community,” Scott said. “This is definitely a new rollout. So you’re going to find more variety, more options, more flavors, and at this location — we have a beer cave.”
With businesses within Gregory being far and few between, City Secretary Norma Garcia said the reopening will be beneficial for locals and travelers alike.
“We’ve only had our mom-and-pop store here — that was the only thing we had here. Most of our citizens were having to go to Portland to fuel and do other things that needed to be done,” Garcia said. “Now we’ve got this convenience store — it’s going to boost our sales tax here for us — it’s very beneficial for us to have them here.”
Cuevas said she hopes down the line that her small city may encounter more business.
“Anything we can do as far as progress goes,” Cuevas said. “We definitely needed it — anything that comes our way, we’ll take it — whichever way it comes.”
