Business
California Dreamin'! Gas near $10 a gallon at northern state station
Schlafer’s Auto Body & Repair was charging $9.60 per gallon of regular unleaded gas on Monday, according to ABC 7 KBAC – about $3 higher than the country’s average
June 7, 2022 12:34pm
Updated: June 7, 2022 1:12pm
California is infamous for some of the highest gas prices in the nation, but one station in the small town of Mendocino may take the cake.
Schlafer’s Auto Body & Repair was charging $9.60 per gallon of regular unleaded gas on Monday, according to ABC 7 KBAC – about $3 higher than the country’s average.
Drivers of picky cars would have to shell out even more - $9.69 per gallon of plus and $9.91 per gallon of supreme.
Data from pricing app GasBuddy showed this was the most expensive gas in the United States.
The four-pump station has been in the news before for the dubious honor of country’s highest gas price like last June when it was charging a relatively quaint $6.73 per gallon.
Owner Judy Schlafer says the prices are high because she is an independent station, meaning she must buy her Chevron gas in much smaller quantities than high-volume stations in the city. According to the 2010 census, Mendocino’s population is 894 people.
“It's really hard up here to stay in business,” Schlafer told SF Gate last year, who said the family-owned station has operated since the 1930s. She began working there in 1968 and has run it herself since 2004.
One expert said that remote towns like Mendocino were hurt most by the transportation cost of gas delivery.
“When a retailer sells small quantities and requires a delivery truck fueled by extremely expensive diesel fuel to make a lengthy drive to deliver the gasoline, these specific retail stations are under unique pressure to raise prices far in excess of the state average in order to maintain their margins,” Troy Vincent, a senior energy market analyst, told the Los Angeles Times.
“I don't have a convenience store to mark up the food and the trinkets,” Schlafer added.
She says the station only offers basic maintenance, like wiper and brake light replacements, because modern vehicles are more difficult to service.
The location had as many as 19 employees, most of whom were mechanics, but is now down to two.
