Gas is $10 a gallon at a Big Sur station. The owner explains why his prices can't go higher
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The owner of Gorda by the Sea, the lone gas station for several miles in any direction from this remote, scenic hamlet in Big Sur, is charging $9.99 for a gallon of gas because, well, that’s as high as the digital numbers on the gas pumps allow.“The software only goes to $10,” said Leo Flores, owner of the gas station and mini-market.
“I know, sometimes someone wants to make a good story because of it, but we have to tell you why.”As the lone gas station for at least 12 miles along Highway 1, the service station often prompts drivers to gasp or clutch their wallets at the sight of a $9.99 price tag for a gallon, but Flores insists he’s not trying to price-gouge his customers.In fact, he’s worried that if gas prices go much higher, it might put him out of business.
“People think you make money, but I’m not,” he said in an interview with The Times.Motorists across the country have been griping since gasoline prices began to surge last month after the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which restricted the flow of oil from key oil-producing countries.
Flores’ business is an example of how sky-rocketing fuel prices are having ripple effects throughout the economy.The isolated gas station has been featured in the news in the past for its high prices, but Flores, who has owned the station for the last 30 years, said there’s a simple reason why the cost is so high.
“We run this place on generators,” he said.“The generators run on five to six gallons of gasoline every hour.” California The drab Chevron at the edge of Chinatown these days is charging nearly $9 a gallon, $3 more than the Los Angeles area’s average of $5.72.It’s not just the gas station that runs on generators, he said.
The small oceanside community surrounding the gas station — the mini-market, the cafe, the hotel and nearby cabins — is owned by Flores and runs on generators ...