Valero Corner Station

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. At Valero Corner Station, every morning around sunrise, a regular would pull up on his bicycle. He never got off, just sat there, staring into the gas station’s window for minutes at a time. One day, a little girl passing by pointed and whispered to her mom, ‘Mommy, why is that man talking to the cash register?’ The clerk inside, used to this daily spectacle, calmly replied, 'He’s not talking to it, honey—he’s asking the calculator how much gas will cost!'

2. At Valero Corner Station, every night after closing, a delivery driver would arrive in his truck and start talking to an empty gas pump. No one noticed for months until one day, a customer passing by heard him laughing out loud. It turned out that the gas pump had a small speaker malfunctioning, broadcasting old radio shows late at night. The delivery driver was just listening to them while pretending to talk back—until finally, a neighbor walked by, joined in on the conversation, and they spent the whole evening laughing together under the neon lights of Valero Corner Station.

3. At Valero Corner Station, every afternoon just before quitting time, a delivery driver would mutter, ‘I’ll be here exactly at five sharp!’ But no matter how precise he claimed to be, he’d always show up two minutes late—right when the station’s clock struck five. One day, an old neighbor stopped by and asked, ‘Why does he always come two minutes late?’ The attendant shrugged, ‘Who knows? Maybe his watch is set for local time plus two.’ Everyone laughed, and soon it became part of their daily routine—a small quirk that brought a smile to everyone who visited Valero Corner Station.

4. At Valero Corner Station, every weekday at exactly 3 PM, an old pickup truck would pull up to the pump. The driver, never seen without his cap and sunglasses, would fill up his tank—then dash inside for a mysterious package wrapped in brown paper. No one knew what it contained until one day, the station’s PA announced: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please be advised that our new shipment of secret sauce will arrive promptly at 3 PM sharp.’ Soon enough, word spread around town: if you stood near the station at precisely 3 PM, you might catch a glimpse of the mysterious man carrying his precious package. One afternoon, a curious kid named Timmy asked his dad, ‘Daddy, why does he always run so fast?’ His dad replied with a wink, ‘Son, that’s because he’s delivering the best secret sauce for our burgers!’ And ever since then, everyone agreed: Valero Corner Station had something special going on.