Barbecue restaurants inside gas stations? A new restaurant joins this Fresno trend
Barbecue restaurants and gas stations. It’s a combo Fresnans seem to love.
The area has several quick-service barbecue places – usually with a smoker in the parking lot – inside a gas station or a convenience store.
Now a new one has landed on the very niche scene. The Hotbox BBQ opened about three weeks ago, inside the Valero station at the Stop-N-Shop Liquor #2 at the southwest corner of Maple and Shields avenues.
The business – run by a couple of 20-something buddies who met while working at the restaurant at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo – is already taking off.
It joins a few others. MEGA Texas Barbecue is probably the most well known, inside ARCO at McKinley Avenue and Fresno Street.
There’s also Rob’s Bayside BBQ inside the ARCO at Cedar and Ashan avenues. Phill’s Corner Grill is inside the Peacock Market on Tollhouse Road near Sunnyside Avenue. And Q-Masters Premium BBQ is kitty corner across the intersection inside Valero.
Sometimes they have seating. Sometimes it’s just takeout food.
Newly opened Hotbox is somewhere between a hole in the wall and a hidden gem, and definitely a work in progress.
It doesn’t have a permanent sign yet. Look for the red, white and blue BBQ flag.
“It’s a diamond in the rough. We’re slowly bringing it to life,” said Ivan Matamoros, who owns the business with Esteban Guiverra.
The food
The menu here is simple. There’s tri-tip, pulled pork, pork ribs, hot links and chicken. Sides include mac ‘n’ cheese, rice pilaf, chili beans, garlic mashed potatoes and smoked corn.
You can get them in various combinations, like three meats and two sides for $20, or a sandwich and a side. The baked potato dish features a huge helping of mashed potatoes smothered in meat, sour cream, cheese, and bacon bits for $13.
Most meats are smoked for six or seven hours in the smoker out back, the pulled pork for more than nine hours. They’re then moved to a literal hotbox that keeps it warm inside the restaurant.
And yes, the owners are well aware of that other meaning of hotbox, the one having to do with smoking marijuana in a small room or car.
Why gas station barbecue?
So how did this combo happen?
Restaurant consultant Alexander Diaz, who leased the space to The Hotbox, said there’s a variety of reasons driving it.
“I just think it kinda goes together, the comfort food aspect of it and the people that are passing through happen to enjoy barbecue,” he said.
Customers are already coming in for gas and drinks. Sometimes, they’re getting off work and hungry.
Gas station kitchens are also affordable. While entrepreneurs might not have the cash to buy a food truck or open a regular restaurant, there are fewer barriers to opening inside a gas station, Diaz said.
All this has happened fast for Guiverra and Matamoros. The pair met years ago while working at Kopje Lodge, the restaurant at the zoo.
The men – who are in sync like an old married couple – worked at several restaurants together. For a while they sold cars and then steaks door to door together.
One day they decided they wanted to be their own bosses.
“It’s crazy, we just got a wild hair one day and bought a smoker and quit our day jobs,” Guiverra said.
They started the business in late December, doing pop-up events with a tent in the Selma Walmart parking lot. They sold out in the rain the day after Christmas.
It’s exploded since then and is continuing to grow.
They’ve already started leasing the empty space next to their kitchen, with plans to turn it into seating with TVs. They’ll be on delivery service apps soon.
“It’s a dream come true,” Guiverra said.
Details: The Hotbox BBQ is at 4588 E. Shields Ave. inside Valero. Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. 559-374-7359.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 11:02 AM.
