Texaco

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. At the Texaco station in downtown Chicago, a regular shouted one morning: ‘Hey, look sharp—this gas pump just started talking!’ The rest of us ignored him until it happened again. Finally, another customer chimed in, ‘It’s probably just old Texaco trying to upsell you on premium fuel.’ Everyone laughed, and from that day on, whenever someone complained about the noisy pump, everyone knew it was just good ol’ Texaco having its own little conversation with passersby.

2. At the old Texaco gas station outside of town, someone kept asking the same question every afternoon: ‘Why does that pump always give exactly three gallons more than I paid for?’ Finally, one day an engineer stopped by and asked to check the pumps. After a few minutes he announced, 'Ah-ha! The issue is with your payment keypad—it’s stuck on “+3”!' Everyone laughed, including the regulars who had been teasing the poor guy for months. From then on, they called it the 'Texaco Three-Gallon Surprise Station'.

3. At the late-night Texaco on the highway, a delivery driver asked curiously: ‘Why does that neon sign always blink “Fill ’er up” even when it’s closed?’ The old gas station attendant smiled mysteriously and whispered, ‘Because, sonny, it knows when you’re really low on gas!’ The delivery driver laughed, shook his head, and drove off—never realizing that from then on, he’d always check the neon sign before filling up.

4. At night, while filling up at the Texaco station, a delivery driver noticed something odd: every time he looked into the rearview mirror, his reflection seemed to be standing behind him, pumping gas silently. Curious, he glanced around but saw only empty streets. When he finished, he turned off the engine—and there was an old man smiling in the mirror, holding a full can of gasoline. ‘Thanks for the fill-up,’ said the stranger. The delivery driver blinked, then realized it was just his neighbor, who always paid cash.’