Richland Minimart

Seems to be a popular gas station on the corner of Union and 23^rd. Didn’t go into the convenience store, but just swiped my card, got gas, and was on my way.
They did an A-​OK job having what I needed! In and out, no problem.

I live in Madrona, about 5 blocks from the Richland Minimart. I get my gas there about once a week so at $ 50 a pop, I spend around $ 2500/​year at this station. Today, I went to buy something inside. I walked up to the counter to pay. The clerk was tapping an email or something on his phone and made us wait (I kid you not) 3′ for him to finish. Now, if we were in New York city, I’d expect such horrible service. But not here… not in my town. When I asked him if we could get some service, he looked at me angrily like I was being overly demanding. I’m going to take my $ 2500/​year elsewhere and I’m going to make it my mission in life to make sure others I know in this neighborhood do the same.

So, every once in a great while I buy a pack of cigarettes. I got the urge while driving home from Caffe Presse and decided to stop here to get my guilty fix. They did not have my cigarette of choice (Camel Turkish Gold) but they did have Camel Lights which worked just fine. The parking lot was littered with trash and poorly lit, so i hustled inside. The store was dingy, there was no staff to be found and the lighting was very dim in here as well, so I actually thought they were closed. I heard music playing («don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the eeeeedge…») and finally a staff person appeared behind the counter. I then learned that they don’t carry the best cigarette EVER, asked for my second choice, and picked out a cute pink lighter. The price of said items was no more or less than I woud expect. They didn’t have cheese pretzel Combos or any coffee (wtf???) so I left with only the smokes and a weird vibe. In the parking lot, a bedraggled gentleman approached my car asking for a ride, and ended up offering to sell me crack. I didn’t give him a ride, or buy crack, but I did give him a smoke. Awesome.