Kristopher Kelley manages a farm and raises bison, cattle, chickens and hogs as naturally as possible. It’s a free-range environment, and no steroids or hormones are used. He needed an outlet to sell the meat, so when an old gas station came up for sale in 2015, he bought it. Three years later, the Full Stop Station opened its doors in Louisville, Kentucky.

Kelley envisioned a c-store with a coffee-shop-like vibe, with an elevated, modern product assortment featuring health-conscious products, vegetarian and vegan fare and sustainably raised meat. Add to this a focus on sustainability, from the food to store lighting to EV charging.

“Coffee shops are places people want to spend time,” Kelley said. “So, as you set up a coffee shop/café, you want it to be welcoming,” he said.

The old gas station has two bays. One has indoor seating—still closed due to COVID-19—and the other is the c-store. Customers can come inside, place an order and then walk outside and grab a seat at one of the picnic tables on the forecourt. Orders are taken and paid for online or by phone. Online ordering is easy via a QR code on the store’s homepage. While curbside pickup is available, few people choose it.

Because indoor space is limited, Full Stop carries a carefully curated selection of products. “A lot of the items we carry are a nicer, higher quality version of typical c-store staples. We use local ingredients from the farm I manage and other local purveyors. We selected a coffee roaster because of their quality and their social practices,” explained Kelley.

Local Flair

The food is “almost all local. We have local sustainably raised meat and on the other extreme, vegan options. We have a large vegan clientele, so we have two menus,” Kelley explained.

Since opening, the breakfast sandwich has been one of the most popular menu items. “We buy bread from a local baker,” said Kelley, then add “bacon or sausage, local eggs, cheddar cheese, mustard and arugula. There’s a vegetarian counterpart called Anna’s Way, which is everything except the meat with an extra egg.”

When Full Stop Station suspended indoor dining last year, Kelley leaned into what he calls “portable food,” such as a breakfast burrito. A large part of the customer base is millennials. Hamburgers made with beef and the Beyond burger are two of the biggest sellers.

Full Stop also is known for its avocado toast, topped with pickled onions and micro greens. “We add a house-made black-eyed pea hummus. We started doing this because we could buy black-eyed peas from a local farmer,” he said.

A lot of the items we carry are a nicer, higher quality version of typical c-store staples.

Empowered Staff

Kelley’s goal is for Full Stop to have a fun and inviting presence, both in store and online. The online task goes to his social media manager. “It’s very much Dani Craft’s personality. Her personality exemplifies the type of people who work here and that we want to work here,” he said.

Craft’s goal is to post something at least once a day. “I’m just making sure we have presence every day, just keeping people involved,” she said.

“We were closed one week for the weather. A lot of people would update on Google to adjust the hours, but everyone under the age of 30 will look us up on Instagram. It’s the best way to get the word out. It’s a lot about making sure the personality of the store can be experienced on social media,” Craft said.

As for in-store, “it’s as employee-directed as possible,” said Kelley, who adds that team members can use a question box to inquire about any issues. “I want to create a space for employees to feel comfortable and feel like they can be heard. It’s a transparent business, so I share the monthly financials with employees. They know how the business is doing. We have employee meetings once a month and manager meetings every two weeks,” he explained.

When it came to the pandemic, employees were given a voice in a critical issue—to open or close. “We were listed as an essential business. We were not forced to close,” Kelley said, adding, “Employees were nervous. So, we shut down for several months. It was the employees’ choice.”

When the store reopened, there was lots of input from the team, who together decided to keep indoor dining closed—“at least until they can be vaccinated. We’re in a tiny building. It’s close quarters, but we feel pretty good about how we’re operating,” Kelley said.

As for the future, Kelley plans to continue improving Full Stop Station. “I want it to be better for customers with high quality goods, and I want employees to feel like their work matters,” he said.