The Quick C Food Mart, in Bowman, South Carolina, seems like any other convenience store, but around the back, through a side door, you’ll find Lowcountry Creamery—home to some of the nation’s most exquisite dairy. The dairy is sourced from the fourth-generation Myers family farm just off Interstates 26 and 95, where some 180 dairy cows graze. Although the dairy’s cultured yogurts, buttermilks and crème fraiche are local chef favorites, it’s the whole milk that sustains the operation. The Quick C sells Lowcountry Creamery, so next time you’re passing through on I-26, consider taking exit 165 to grab a few gallons of gas—and world-class milk while you’re at it.

Taking Flight

In the 1930s, Americans took to the road in droves (pun intended) as cars became more affordable and highways were built. This newfound excitement created a demand for gas stations, and as competition grew in the fueling industry, owners did what they could to entice drivers to stop at their gas station. Enter brothers Elmer and Henry Nickle, who built a convenience and fueling store to look like an airplane. Located in Powell, Tennessee, the pumps sat underneath the wing, and there was even a propeller. The Nickle brothers closed and sold the station by the 1970s, but it has since been restored to its former 1931 glory, and in 2004, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, based on its strength as one of East Tennessee’s last remaining examples of “fantastic architecture.”