Tastes Great...Means More Filling
A BBQ concession gives a Chevron carwash a boost

By Tracy Charuhas

Customers at the Chevron 24-hour Food Mart and carwash at 50th Avenue and McDowell Road in Phoenix, AZ, get a tempting surprise when they walk into the c-store. The scent of hickory-smoked barbecue fills the air, and a smiling Titus Clyde Lee stands ready to serve up some "homemade" food.

The Chevron station is home to Billy & Clyde's Barbecue. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. hungry patrons can get anything from pulled pork sandwiches, ribs and beef to fresh-baked cornbread and french fries. Lee, who leases a 600 square foot space from station owner Sam Zeitoun, knows most of his regular customers by name.

The location includes a 62-foot carwash tunnel with a Ryko system over an 80-foot conveyor. Remarkably, the location is completely unattended yet washes about 150 cars per day during the week and 200 per day Friday through Sunday. The carwash generates about $12,000 a month.

Sam Zeitoun and Titus Clyde Lee

Customers who need help with loading the conveyor can press a help button and a c-store employee will come out and assist them. Zeitoun says this only happens about three times a week. He prefers to have an unattended wash and says he will convert an attended wash he has in Phoenix to unattended soon.

"The unattended wash is a lot faster than the attended one," Zeitoun says. "At the attended wash we have to go around and look for damage before the car goes in--making sure the antenna is down and the windows are rolled up. This takes a lot of time."

Zeitoun says having an unattended wash with operating instructions posted in English and Spanish also helps in the area of liability for damages. "If anything happens to a car at the unattended wash we're not responsible, but at the attended wash we're responsible," he says.

Zeitoun owns a total of five Chevron stations: two in Phoenix; one in Redford, MI; two in Mesa, AZ. In a year, he plans to open a new station in Scottsdale, AZ. This location will have a 4,000 square foot c-store, a tunnel wash, 12 fuel pumps and a second Billy & Clyde's location.

"It's going to be a megastation," Zeitoun says. "I'm going to have a Billy & Clyde's even bigger and better over there."

Zeitoun says he plans to install another Ryko tunnel in the Scottsdale location and thinks it will do even better than the McDowell location.

Signs direct customers onto the conveyor.

"The average price of a carwash in Scottsdale is $15--everything is full service," Zeitoun says. "When people find out they can get their car washed for $3, $4 or $5 (at my station) they'll come in here. There's nothing there now like that."

The regular carwash prices are $6 for the Supreme Wash, $5 for the Plus Wash and $4 for the Regular Wash, but with a purchase the prices drop down to $4.99, $3.99 and $2.99.

The facility also includes a covered detailing area with two vacuums, a 3,500 square foot c-store and six fuel pumps, but it's the non-traditional combination of a gas station, carwash and a barbecue restaurant that makes this place special.

Zeitoun is not the original station owner, and when he first visited the Chevron and considered buying the location he was skeptical about getting into the barbecue business.

"When I first saw it I was a little scared," he says. "Nobody had barbecue in a gas station. That's something I never thought I'd have in my station."

But Zeitoun took a chance with Billy & Clyde's, and it's been paying off ever since.

"It's bringing me more business because you can't find smoked barbecue in a gas station," Zeitoun says. "All you see (in gas stations) is fast food franchises. Some people are sick and tired of that food. So we brought them something different. You can't go into a little fast food restaurant and get what we offer."

The station sells approximately 230,000 gallons of gasoline per month. The average c-store customer spends about $4 while the average Billy and Clyde's purchase is $5.99 per person (the cost of the combo meal).

After taking over the station, Zeitoun began advertising Billy & Clyde's throughout the community. He took out ads in local newspapers and even went to area churches letting people know about the restaurant and offering them special deals.

"I gave people free soda and other free things," Zeitoun says. "Now it's doing very well. That increased my business a lot."

Billy & Clyde's sells 300 to 400 pounds of meat a week during its busiest months--December through April. Customers can take out food if they're on the run or sit at one of the outside tables.

While Lee runs the restaurant himself he says much of the success of Billy & Clyde's has to do with Zeitoun's cooperation. Zeitoun runs the station and leaves the barbecue side of the business to Lee.

"This kind of business can't work with a person who doesn't understand the concept of partnership," Lee says. "Sam is great to work with. He lets me run the restaurant."

Zeitoun says Lee knows how to operate a restaurant successfully and that's why he leaves major decisions about the Billy & Clyde's to Lee.

"I know how to run a gas station," Zeitoun says. "He knows how to run a restaurant. Why should I butt in when he knows his business? The previous owner (of the Phoenix station) was too involved in the restaurant, and the business didn't do as well."

"We have a fair exchange here," Lee says. "I bring them business and they bring me business."

Zeitoun says he believes the Billy & Clyde's draws in customers who ordinarily might not have stopped at the c-store.

"They taste the food and they come back all the time. But they also get their gas here. That's the catch. They get gas, Lotto tickets, cigarettes," Zeitoun says.

Zeitoun, 28, has been in the c-store business for more than 10 years. He and his family moved to the United States from Lebanon in 1988. His mother and father opened their first convenience store shortly thereafter, and Zeitoun quickly learned how to run the business. The family moved to Michigan two years later, and at the age of 18 Zeitoun opened his first c-store in Redford, MI. Every member of Zeitoun's family owns and operates c-stores/gas stations.

Lee opened his first Billy & Clyde's location in Tucson, AZ. This business endeavor evolved because of Lee's entrepreneurial spirit and a bit of luck. One morning while Lee was sitting in a restaurant having breakfast, he overheard a couple discussing what kind of food they should put into their Tucson Chevron station. Lee, who had 13 years experience at a well-known Phoenix barbecue spot, leaned over to the two and suggested barbecue. He knew it was an unusual suggestion but says he was sure it could work.

"It was different and I hadn't heard of anyone trying it before," Lee says.

The couple asked for Lee's number but Lee was sure he'd never hear from them again. Six months later they called him up and said they wanted to go ahead with the restaurant.

The endeavor was both good and bad for Lee. While the Tucson location did mediocre business, he had the opportunity to move his operation to one of the couple's Phoenix Chevron stations.

"Tucson isn't much of a barbecue town, but Phoenix is another story," Lee says. "Phoenix can't get enough barbecue. There's tons of Mexican food here but hardly any barbecue. That's why we've done so good."

The couple eventually sold the location to Zeitoun.

Special sauce, too

In addition to serving up barbecue and side dishes, Lee also bottles and sells his own special blend of barbecue sauce. Cousin Clyde's Sauce is available in mild and hot. While the mild sauce is on the sweet side, the hot sauce is a more fiery blend of tomato, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and red chili peppers. Lee says the hot sauce sells the best. He knows this not only from taking inventory but talking to his customers. Chatting with customers is Lee's favorite part of the job.

"I get to meet quite a few people," Lee says. "I get to meet folks from all walks of life. It's an operation where you have to be quick but you still have a chance to get personal with your customers. I learned years ago how important it is to get to know your customers by name. I have regulars who come in here all the time."

One question Lee gets asked a lot by new customers is who are Billy and Clyde. Lee's middle name is Clyde and Billy is a relative of the original owners, he says.

Lee has one part-time employee who comes in on the weekends but Lee runs the business himself Monday through Friday. Lee will often come in around 6 a.m. on a weekday for some preparation work. In order to get the right amount of flavor, the meat is cooked for 16 hours in a Southern Pride smoker which runs 24 hours a day.

While business is great in the winter and spring months, it drops off dramatically in the summer. "Most people don't want to eat barbecue when it's 110 degrees out. We sell some barbecue and some cold sandwiches but winter is our busiest time," he says.

Lee's plans for the future include franchising Billy & Clyde's across the country. He says he's designed a program for as low as $40,000.

"McDonald's started out little. I figure I can too," Lee says.

In addition to his Scottsdale endeavor, Zeitoun recently met with Chevron representatives and says he plans to have a total of 20 Chevron locations throughout the country by 2003. He plans to put Billy & Clyde's in some of those locations.

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