(An earlier version of this story misidentified an owner of Cheers Wine and Spirits. The Augusta Chronicle regrets the error.)
Few Augusta-area entrepreneurs know the value of a business’ location better than Deep Patel.
The 22-year-old CEO of family-owned fuel-stop chain GasWorld is asking Columbia County to rezone two rural acres on Appling-Harlem Road from agricultural to commercial.
The land where he wants to build a convenience store with fuel pumps is across the road from the county’s massive Amazon and Club Car facilities, where an estimated 5,000 employees – some of whom might want coffee or gas – drive in and out.
The property, with 200 feet fronting Appling-Harlem Road, is surrounded on the other three sides by a single undeveloped parcel. Saying the proposed store wouldn’t encroach on occupied residential property, Patel is asking the county to reduce the required buffer around his business from 100 feet to 50 feet.
More: Plan for subdivision near River Ridge Elementary returns for Columbia County approval