This Germantown business could be the filling station of the future

Bailey Loosemore | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Quick guide to the 2018 Courier Journal Wine & Food Experience The 2018 Courier Journal Wine & Food Experience will feature dishes from nearly 30 local restaurants along with a cooking demonstration from "Chopped" judge Scott Conant.

Full Stop will be located in the former Haddad's Auto Service building at 1132 E. St. Catherine St.

The renewable filling station will sell farm fresh breakfast and lunch items and seasonal biofuel.

It expects to be open in November 2018.

Along a prominent Germantown thoroughfare, an old auto service station has become something of an eyesore. But by the end of the year, the building at the intersection of Oak and St. Catherine streets could become an innovative filling station unlike anything else in the city.

The idea, on its face, seems simple.

Instead of opening another Thortons or Speedway, two entrepreneurs have combined their resources to launch something of a local gas station, complete with a select number of grocery items and plenty of hot coffee.

But unlike typical gas stations, the Full Stop Filling Station at 1132 E. St. Catherine St. will specialize in sustainable products, like locally grown food and biofuel (meaning there won't actually be any gas).

You may like: Southern Indiana has gained a dozen new bars and restaurants in 2018

See also: El Taco Luchador sets an opening date for its downtown restaurant

"I hope it's what gas stations will be when we're not so petroleum dependent," said owner Kristopher Kelley, who manages Woodland Farm in Goshen. "... We hope it's the best filling station you've never been to."

Full Stop is currently under construction in the former Haddad's Auto Service station, which has been vacant for a number of years.

The filling station will be within walking distance of the new Bradford Mill Lofts along with the stretch of Barret Avenue where Martin's BBQ opened last week.

It's expected to open around November.

Kelley said he's owned the building since Haddad's closed and has always planned to open something similar to Full Stop. But he didn't start making the idea a reality until he met Sarah Beth Welder earlier this year.

Welder previously helped open several Quills Coffee locations in Louisville and New Albany, Indiana, and approached Kelley about opening her own shop in the empty space.

Welder said she plans to use a cooperative economics model to run the store, allowing employees to take turns choosing their shifts and giving them a say in how the business is run.

Read this: Louisville's first cat cafe just opened. And we're already getting a second.

Did you know?: Louisville already has 70 new restaurants, bars in 2018

The shop will likely be open for breakfast, lunch and after-work snacks. It will have a small kitchen where employees can make food to order, and menu items will span both vegan and meat options.

But don't get the wrong idea that Full Stop will be all high-end.

The filling station will have coolers for regular milk and soft drinks, and it will have shelves for convenience store staples like chocolate bars and chips.

"If what you want from a community store is a fountain soda and a Snickers bar, you can do that," Kelley said. "Or you can get a farm fresh sandwich."

"Or the best coffee in town!" Welder added, mentioning that Full Stop will purchase beans from Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco.

"We want to be comfortable for any socioeconomic level," Kelley said. "A lot of spaces that have higher-end options are not that way."

Full Stop will sell biofuel seasonally and will have a year-round electric car charging station.

In the future, it plans to add solar panels to its roof and outdoor entertainment like a ping pong table.

Bailey Loosemore: 502-582-4646; bloosemore@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @bloosemore. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/baileyl.