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What was a gas station where people filled up their cars is now a family restaurant where people can fill up their stomachs.
Amber & Marty’s Fillin’ Station, owned by Amber Hollan and Marty Gray, opened last week in Sunnyland.
“We believe there is a need for this kind of restaurant here,” Gray said.
The need has been apparent, with news of the Fillin’ Station opening already spreading around the community.
“While we’re here working, we’ve got people in the area pulling up in the parking lot, rolling down their window and asking us,
‘How soon?,’” Hollan said. “We’ve gotten a lot of community support.”
With more than 40 years of restaurant experience between the two of them, Gray and Hollan thought it was time to create their own from scratch.
“If you’re going to open a business, go with what you know,” Gray said. “I’ve been the chef, I’ve managed kitchens, I’ve managed entire restaurants.”
“It’s all we know. We never went to college. We both just always worked in restaurants,” Hollan said. “We figured we felt comfortable enough, we wanted to do it for ourselves.”
Next to the newly renovated Route 8, Hollan and Gray knew when they saw the building they had their new home for their business.
“It was just, I think, a little bit of luck we stumbled upon this place,” Hollan said. “We didn’t want to compete with friends of ours in the tri-county area.”
With the Fillin’ Station doors now open, customers can look forward to eating home-cooked meals.
“Majority of it (cooking) we are doing from scratch, which puts us in a different category than a lot of restaurants these days,” Gray said.
For those customers who are really hungry, or for those who want to solidify their legacy at the restaurant, the Station offers a 5-pound burger challenge, consisting of a 5-pound burger with a pound of fries.
“We’re going to have a little wall of fame,” Hollan said. “It’s not going to be on the menu though, it’s just going to be something that we’d like just to get out with word.”
The 5-pound burger is not the only thing unique. The decor for the Fillin’ Station sets it apart from competing establishments. Keeping the spirit of the previous business alive, the restaurant is lined with license plates from various states and the tables are covered with black and white checkered prints.
What was a gas station where people filled up their cars is now a family restaurant where people can fill up their stomachs.
Amber & Marty’s Fillin’ Station, owned by Amber Hollan and Marty Gray, opened last week in Sunnyland.
“We believe there is a need for this kind of restaurant here,” Gray said.
The need has been apparent, with news of the Fillin’ Station opening already spreading around the community.
“While we’re here working, we’ve got people in the area pulling up in the parking lot, rolling down their window and asking us,
‘How soon?,’” Hollan said. “We’ve gotten a lot of community support.”
With more than 40 years of restaurant experience between the two of them, Gray and Hollan thought it was time to create their own from scratch.
“If you’re going to open a business, go with what you know,” Gray said. “I’ve been the chef, I’ve managed kitchens, I’ve managed entire restaurants.”
“It’s all we know. We never went to college. We both just always worked in restaurants,” Hollan said. “We figured we felt comfortable enough, we wanted to do it for ourselves.”
Next to the newly renovated Route 8, Hollan and Gray knew when they saw the building they had their new home for their business.
“It was just, I think, a little bit of luck we stumbled upon this place,” Hollan said. “We didn’t want to compete with friends of ours in the tri-county area.”
With the Fillin’ Station doors now open, customers can look forward to eating home-cooked meals.
“Majority of it (cooking) we are doing from scratch, which puts us in a different category than a lot of restaurants these days,” Gray said.
For those customers who are really hungry, or for those who want to solidify their legacy at the restaurant, the Station offers a 5-pound burger challenge, consisting of a 5-pound burger with a pound of fries.
“We’re going to have a little wall of fame,” Hollan said. “It’s not going to be on the menu though, it’s just going to be something that we’d like just to get out with word.”
The 5-pound burger is not the only thing unique. The decor for the Fillin’ Station sets it apart from competing establishments. Keeping the spirit of the previous business alive, the restaurant is lined with license plates from various states and the tables are covered with black and white checkered prints.
“We’re a former gas station so we’re going with the motor theme,” Gray said. “I don’t know of anyone else around doing that.
That makes us unique I believe.”
Along with a menu consisting of food made from scratch and an uncommon interior design, the Fillin’ Station also offers friendly and personalized service that chain restaurants cannot offer.
“We’re more personal with the people. We will end up being on more of a first-name basis,” Gray said.
“Our customers and our employees are not numbers, they’re actual people to us,” Hollan said. “I think when you can tell the
employees are happy, that’s a good sign. I believe the employees are only as good as you treat them.”
Amber & Marty’s Fillin’ Station is located at 2400 Washington Road.
