Starter & Main

In the United States, particularly in the South, gas stations are more than just a spot to fuel up for the next leg of the trip. Food culture is attached to them in a way that’s rarely seen here, although if Judson and Greg Flom have their way, that won’t be the case for much longer.

As co-owners of Leslieville Pumps General Store & Kitchen, these brothers have teamed up to turn an old gas station on Queen Street East into a gathering spot for drivers and diners alike. Judson, who trained as a chef at George Brown College, wanted to make a different imprint on the city with his skills, and turned to his brother, Greg, as a supporter. “I was looking to open up my own restaurant and there were a couple different locations I was looking at, but nothing really seemed right to me,” explains Judson. “I ended up just getting our tire fixed next door because there’s a garage there, and they had sort of joked about me taking over the gas station and the Country Style that was in there. Of course, I didn’t take it very seriously.”

Judson may have initially brushed off the garage guys’ banter, but something kept gnawing at him. At home one night, looking online for recipes, he came across something called Oklahoma Joe’s, one of North America’s top-rated barbecues that happens to operate out of a gas station. The seeds for Leslieville Pumps were officially sown.