Fuel City to bring cheap gas, tacos to Haltom City next year

Fuel City, the Dallas convenience store chain known as much for its tasty tacos, animals and weekend karaoke nights as cheap gas, has settled on a location in Haltom City.

Founder John Benda said this week that construction will begin in February on an 8,000-square-foot store on an 8.3-acre lot at Haltom Road and Texas 121. He hopes to open by September or October. The project is expected to cost more than $10 million.

Benda, who has dreamed for more than two years of expanding to Fort Worth, said the store will include a trademark livestock display. It will also include a covered patio and a 24/7 taco stand.

“Haltom City will love what we do there with the animals and everything. I’ve invented something neat here,” Benda said. “We get to be in a whole new group of wonderful people.”

The Haltom City store will feature 16 pumps and 32 fuel stations for gasoline with an additional five fuel positions designated for diesel.

Benda has two other stores — one near downtown Dallas and another in Mesquite. The one in Mesquite takes up about 17 acres and his first store, which sits in the shadow of the Dallas skyline that he calls the “ranch in downtown Dallas,” is on 7.5 acres.

A store in Lufkin was sold to Pilot/Flying J in July.

While Benda tries to match the lowest gas prices in town, he draws as much publicity — and crowds — with the extracurricular activities that make Fuel City a happening place. The original Dallas store is a cultural melting pot: College kids sit and eat tacos with businessmen and truck drivers. Benda has said it’s “more than just selling gas and selling tacos, it’s about fun.”

The Western-themed stores are branded with a circular cooler for six-packs of pop and beer as well as a massive tiled tub featuring single cans and bottles of the most popular soft drinks buried in ice. Clerks wear T-shirts with slogans like “Say no to drugs. Say yes to tacos.”

At the Fort Worth area store, Benda plans to sell tacos from the same kitchen that has earned a loyal fan base in Dallas. In 2006, Texas Monthly rated its tacos the best, particularly the picadillo — a double-layer, small-corn tortilla stuffed with ground beef and bits of potato seasoned with garlic and black pepper.

And then there’s the livestock. The Haltom City store will feature longhorns and donkeys that people can view while eating tacos and watching the world go by. While Benda’s had exotic animals at his Dallas store, he’s sticking with the domestic critters in Tarrant County. For now.

“No zebras or camels, but I’ll think about it,” he said.

At its meeting last week, the Haltom City council unanimously approved replatting the property for the project. City officials were not available for comment Tuesday, but Benda said he worked with the city to get the necessary curb cuts to help control traffic. He said he has also worked with the Texas Department of Transportation to get the right of way for turn lanes.

Benda said he has plans for another store in the Fort Worth area, but is not ready to announce its location.

“Haltom City was at the right place at the right time,” Benda said. “It was a match made in heaven.”

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Fuel City to bring cheap gas, tacos to Haltom City next year."