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Former Shelby gas station gets new life as botanical marketplace

Posted on by Vaseline

Liz Flowers and David Royster joined their creative forces and lovingly transformed a former gas station into a beautiful market.

Belvedere Station, a botanical market located near the historic Belvedere neighborhood on Marion Street, is a unique and charming addition to Shelby. Vibrant flowers spill out of planters at the entrance, while wooden benches repurposed from a shopping center invite people to sit in the shade. A large, old coat rack has been repurposed as a sign by the road, just one of the many ways, big and small, that the two visionaries found ways to upcycle and repurpose the old into something new, weaving the past and present together.

The building, at 713 E. Marion St., began as Wilson’s Gulf in 1961 and has also operated as a car detailing and car wash over the years. It has been vacant for the past six or seven years.

Flowers, which leases the space for its store, has partnered with the Royster family, who own it, to transform the building into a botanical marketplace over the course of several months. The store will offer fresh produce, bread, goat cheese, a selection of beer and wine, and a variety of botanical products including plants, herbs, decor, and kitchen items.

After Flowers retired from a long career in Georgia, she said she spoke with Sally Royster, a friend of hers, and told her she wanted to do something in landscape design. She said the two were chatting and she was just thinking out loud when she said she thought she wanted a store.

“She said I should bring you and my son together. I think you might have a shared direction.”

Flowers, a certified landscape designer with a master’s certification in design and horticulture from NC State, offers design services and David Royster is a principal at Capitol Funds, Inc., a development company.

When Flowers and David Royster met at the site of the former Wilson Gulf gas station to discuss a future project, she was immediately excited.

“I turned around and looked at the building… and said, I don’t know what we’re doing here, but the answer is yes,” she said.

The building was a blank canvas.

She said the two immediately clicked over their shared vision and began discussing creative ideas.

Flowers said the name Belvedere Station is a nod to both Wilson’s gas station and Belvedere Park, the nearby historic district.

David Royster said the original plan was to demolish the building and sell the site.

“And then we just really fell in love with the architecture of the building. It’s very special,” he said.

He said it has a large footfall, is within walking distance of hundreds of homes and is located near the Hive Coffee drive-thru, which is in a converted bank, and near the shopping center on Suttle Street. With the transformation of both locations, the Roysters decided to breathe new life into the small building.

“I wanted to do something that would have more of an impact on the community than just an auto repair shop, even though that’s what it was intended to be,” Royster said. “In my search, Liz and I got on the same page and worked together and almost got carried away with some of our ideas. We both saw the building and what it could be and so much more. It was kind of a blank canvas. Liz did more to the building than I ever thought she would in terms of the aesthetics, the curb appeal, even the plants. You get the contrast of the gas station of fossil fuels and work and now it’s more about art and beauty and community. That transition was pretty important for this project. Liz was really the only person who could have done this.”

They hope it can also serve as an example of what can be achieved throughout Shelby and how buildings can be repurposed.

“I feel like it’s a demonstration project,” Flowers said. “The way the space looks now, the way the building looks now, someone can come in and see their future. Not just this building, but other buildings in the city.”

She said she doesn’t just rent space for a store, she creates a sense of community by giving women who can’t afford a storefront a place to sell their products, and she also shows how to reuse and upcycle products.

Flowers said the store will sell products from local and regional artisans and growers and will focus on all things plant related.

“It’s a pretty broad category, but it keeps me focused in choosing a few products,” she says.

There are plans for future expansion of the site, including a greenhouse.

There is a patio where families can enjoy a mocktail or cocktail and play a game of cornhole.

“As the store evolves, so does the location and I hope other areas in Shelby continue to evolve as well,” Royster said.

He said it is a rising tide that lifts all ships.

On Aug. 7, there will be a pop-up event from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. with Old North Farm. There will be live music, a mocktail making demonstration, and baked goods from Milk Glass Pie.

Reporter Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at [email protected].