Raise the Roof

A 19,000-square-foot location, originally designed as a barn, houses Mr. Bunky’s Market.

May 12, 2016

Each month in NACS Magazine, Al Hebert showcases America’s culinary treasure—gas station cuisine—in his “Gas Station Gourmet” column, and brings foodservice ideas to readers. In the current May issue, Hebert shares with readers more about Mr. Bunky’s Market in Eastover, South Carolina.

Convenience stores come in all shapes and sizes. There are the very modern stores, designed for optimal traffic flow, effective merchandising and a clean, slick look. But there are also those stores that remind us of a time when the pace of life was slow and relaxed. A quick trip inside a store of that kind might involve a purchase or maybe just some browsing, and certainly conversation about what’s going on in town. Mr. Bunky’s Market in Eastover, South Carolina is that kind of store.

Hansel “Bunky” Carter bought Po’ Boys Bait and Tackle Shop in 1981 and turned it into a country store and meat market. As the business grew, he added an additional building for hardware and lawn mower repair. Sadly, fire destroyed the store in 1994.

Carter knew he would rebuild the store but this time put everything under one roof. Fortunately, he already had a set of building plans on hand—they just happened to be for a barn.

“If you look at the store, all the beams are exposed. You can see where the arena and stalls would be placed,” Carter explained. “My son and I did a lot of the work ourselves. I don’t think there’s anything in [the store] that I didn’t have something to do with.”

A year later, the 19,000-square-foot store was finished, with inventory ranging from groceries to convenience items to farm supplies, hardware and tools. A full-service meat market opens into the store, and second-floor space (the original hay loft) sells consignment goods.

Everything to Everyone
Originally, Carter planned to put a restaurant in the second-story loft, but he changed his mind when he thought about climbing stairs all day. “I had a lot of room up there, and I even had a couple of weddings,” he recalled.

One day someone wanted to leave something up there on consignment. The next thing he knew, there was a waiting list for the space. These days, people bring in bicycles, golf clubs and lamps. Space is rented by the month. “Some people have been there for years,” Carter said. “Four of our largest vendors have been there for two or three years. A friend of mine is in the used appliance business and he leaves a few of those up there.”

Consignment draws people to the store. If customers don’t need fuel or food, they just pop in and browse the loft. But if you’re going to be a convenience store in a rural area, stocking more non-traditional items is important. Customers who want coffee might also need baby chicks or rabbits. Naturally, chicken feed, along with horse, goat and cattle feed, is a necessity.

Country Cooking
The large building also gives Carter space to run an expansive food program at Mr. Bunky’s Market. “We do a lot of country cooking. We do several meats each day for lunch. You can go to the meat market, pick out what you want and have it cooked. When people call and ask what’s on the menu, I say, anything you want—[including pork chops, ribs, chicken and quail],” he said.

“Quail is very popular. We deep fry or charbroil them; some people get both. It’s slow eating; it’s a tiny bird, with bones, about as big as a baseball. There are four in an order,” he said. “[And] they don’t taste like chicken.”

Mr. Bunky’s also has the usual burger fare: bacon burger, cheeseburger and hamburger. Having a meat market and restaurant in the same building has turned out to be a real advantage. “We grind meat [in the meat market]; it works great with hamburgers. We don’t have to worry about having too much, and we have fresh hamburger meat as needed, two or three times a day,” he said. “The Bunky Burger is a nine-ounce patty made with ground chuck, cheese, a slice of ham and a scoop of chili.”

Gathering Place
The store is a half mile from McEntire Joint National Guard Base, so naturally, servicemen and women find a warm welcome at Mr. Bunky’s. During training, they’re away from home, but at Mr. Bunky’s they can relax and experience real comfort food in a laid-back country atmosphere.

When they deployed to Iraq, the air guard unit from the base asked to take the “Eat at Mr. Bunky’s” banner with them. They hung it in the dining hall, and it brought a little piece of home to the war zone. “It meant a lot to me. They took it and flew it on a mission in an F-16 along with the flag we have here. It stayed with them throughout the deployment. When they brought it back, they all had signed it,” Carter said. “It was very emotional.”

In addition to the local military, Carter has his regulars, like a lot of rural stores. “I have a corner of the restaurant where people can gather. On Friday mornings we have an older group of guys who come in very early. Then, another group and another comes in to meet,” he said.

He often worries about his older customers. “If we don’t see someone every day, we wonder about them. So we check up on them to see if something’s wrong. We look out for each other,” he explained.

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