<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0xEyGn_0vlC8qAI00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0xEyGn_0vlC8qAI00" width="1200" height="800" ></figure>BROADWAY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – A new gas station more than five years in the making opened its doors to the Broadway community earlier this week. The Rockingham Petroleum Cooperative’s Broadway fuel center welcomed its first customers on Monday. The center’s location in the town’s southeast end makes it the third location in the Shenandoah Valley, following their two other centers in Harrisonburg and Broadway. The process to build the store started when the land was purchased in 2019, although several hurdles delayed progress over the subsequent years – including the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Cooperative’s General Manager, Josh Stephens, there were some other larger obstacles to overcome as well – some of which that are unavoidable when trying to open a gas station. Those included clearing matters with all regulatory agencies, including the Department of Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency and the Virginia Department of Transportation, among others.“That was probably one of the longest processes between that, and trying to get utilities moved,” Stephens explained. “We had to move a natural gas line in the process, but all those folks were more than hospitable, great to deal with, and we followed every single thing they asked us to do to make sure everyone was happy.”In spite of those hurdles, the site eventually came to fruition. “There have been some challenges to developing the site into what we wanted it to be, but here we are in September of 2024, and it’s up and running,” Stephens said. According to Stephens, their Broadway customers eagerly anticipated having an option for premium diesel and non-ethanol fuel closer to home. “We’ve heard through the years from customers saying: ‘we come to Harrisonburg, you guys have products that we want, but we’re coming 13 to 15 miles out of the way to drive to Harrisonburg to get it,'” Stephens said. The store’s location at the corner of Mayland Rd. and Springsbrook Rd. allows plenty of space for commercial clients as well as tractor trailers which use 50-cetane premium diesel fuel, which is available at the station. Stephens added that allows them to cater to all vehicle types. “Everything from a Volkswagen Beetle up to a big rig,” Stephens said. The store currently employs 12 people in full and part-time positions, with plans to hire up to 16 employees at the Broadway location. While it is currently closed on Sundays, the Cooperative plans to open the center seven days per week when they are at full-staff. The service station features 14 fuel pumps, while the interior sports a full kitchen serving fried chicken and boiled peanuts, which, according to Stephens, have been particularly popular. “I didn’t realize that was a thing,” Stephens said. “However, we have original boiled peanuts and Cajun boiled peanuts there, and they seem to be pretty big hits so far.”The food served inside won’t be the only fare that can be found on site. The corner lot once house a large concrete pad that held a community barbecue pit, which was removed with the widening of the bridge on Route 259 heading in to Fulks Run. That area is now being designated with a plan to rebuild the barbecue pit so it can once again be used for chicken barbecues to raise money for local organizations, such as the Ruritans and Boy Scouts. According Stephens, they hope to have that rebuilt in time for the next barbecue season. “We’re excited about that for the folks that would utilize it and the folks that would help with the money raised for it,” Stephens said. “We just wanted to make sure there was a space for that to come back to the community.” While the Cooperative is still working to get everything in place with hundreds of customers stopping through the fuel center in the first week, Stephens said that expanding to another location in Rockingham County is not off the table. “It’s a little too early to tell but we had heard for years from the folks on the northern end of the town that they would like to have our products closer to home,” Stephens said. “The northern end of the county is not the only area in the county we’ve heard that from.”</div></body>

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Long awaited fuel station and convenience store opens in Broadway

BROADWAY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – A new gas station more than five years in the making opened its doors to the Broadway community earlier this week. The Rockingham Petroleum Cooperative’s Broadway fuel center welcomed its first customers on Monday. The center’s location in the town’s southeast end makes it the third location in the Shenandoah Valley, following their two other centers in Harrisonburg and Broadway.