LOS ANGELES -- When fuel retailers get a resigning bonus from their brand, it's safe to say most spend it in a fairly utilitarian fashion. Freshen up the paint, clean up the landscaping, maybe buy a few new fixtures and call it day. But Robert Munakash had bigger aspirations.
A Los Angeles-based owner/operator of three convenience stores since 1995, Munakash was grappling with how to finance a refresh of his Pacific West General Store. The 76-branded site was last remodeled in 2000 when it added a Taco Bell drive-thru. But it had such potential, sitting at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and the Pacific Coast Highway, with the beach only steps away and tony neighborhoods all around.
That's when Munakash happened to get a call from his local 76 rep, offering him a six-figure bonus for resigning with a 10-year supply agreement.
"It was at my discretion to spend, and I decided to spend it on my business to re-energize it," said Munakash. "Business was getting stagnant. It's a great location, gets a lot of traffic, but I wanted to get something in there that the community deserves."
And Munakash already had a redesign inspiration: his neighborhood nightclub, Shorebar. Of course, this wasn't just any nightclub--the Santa Monica venue's "beachy," nautical vibe won its design team an architectural award. Munakash is a member at Shorebar, and long admired its ambience. After encouragement from Shorebar owner and friend John Terzian, he connected with the nightclub's designer, John Sofio and Sormeh Azad of Built Inc.
While Built had established itself as a designer of hip nightspots, cafes and restaurants, the firm was intrigued by the gas station project.
"We looked at it as a great opportunity, even though the budget was relatively tight, to really create something of a hometown-market feel," said Sofio. "Something slightly nostalgic without being kitsch, and also having that Catalina, Nantucket vibe we used for Shorebar."
Over two months, the Built team--with Terzian's design guidance--transformed the run-of-the-mill gas station into a sophisticated convenience store. The design is an echo of Shorebar, complete with:
- Gray-washed wood paneling on the store's walls.
- Porthole mirrors in the restroom.
- Ceramic tile flooring that mimics the look of weathered, gray floorboards.
- A red-and-white awning over the outdoor patio that echoes a "diver down" scuba flag
- Gray-shingled pillars and cabana stripes for the fuel-island canopy.
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One of Munakash's favorite elements is the white wood tobacco backbar, which is a replica of the bar at Shorebar. The roofed backbar is a classy replacement for the vendor-supplied cigarette racks that employees struggled to keep clean. It also blends seamlessly into the checkout counter. The improvement was so great that the store enjoyed an 8% to 9% jump in cigarette sales after the remodel, said Munakash.
Another favorite touch: vintage black-and-white photos of beach scenes above the cooler doors, which tie Pacific West General Store to its surroundings. For Sofio, such elements are critical to the integrity of the design.
"You see some gas stations do this Mediterranean thing and it doesn't add any value," said Sofio. "Here, it feels truthful and real because we didn't do too much of this fakeness to it."
Munakash advises other retailers to embrace a theme and tie it into the business. "You walk into c-stores, and there are different designs. There's no harmonious feeling tying it all together," he said. The Pacific West General Store's nautical theme "really makes the customer service experience fantastic."
The retailer is so pleased with the results that he is considering a redesign of his Santa Monica ARCO-branded site, which sits in an art district. The vision: an industrial, lofty, artsy feel, complete with a bicycle repair shop to cater to the area's local biking community.
Phillips 66 Co., owner of the 76 fuel brand, did not influence or sign off on the design process, said Munakash. But he believes the company is pleased with results.
"I have a tendency to push the envelope in a lot of different ways, whether it's technology or trying different things," he said. "And they're very supportive and I'm very blessed to be part of their brand."
Perhaps the biggest endorsement is the fact that Phillips 66 shot a commercial featuring the site, Munakash noted. And the clincher: a nearly 4% bump in fuel volume the store enjoyed after the remodel.
"You can really miss it by a long shot or really nail it," said Munakash. "They were blown away when they saw it."
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