Alex Canter – the fourth-generation member of the family behind one of L.A.’s famous deli institutions, Canter’s – has purchased the historic Union 76 Gas Station at the corner of Crescent Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Canter, along with a group of investors, hopes to transform the Route 66 roadside locale into “Maggie’s,” a new kind of gas station that provides high-quality food and household products while maintaining convenient service.
“We believe that the food and beverage experience at gas stations has been overlooked for a while, and we see an opportunity to bring a fresh, hospitality-driven mindset and approach to curation and coffee and food program,” Canter said.
With a massive curvilinear canopy that swoops toward the sky from its convenience store base, the Union 76 Gas Station at 427 N. Crescent Drive boasts the iconic “googie” style that was a hallmark of mid-century modern era of Southern California. According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, architect Gin Wong of Pereira and Associates originally planned for the building to be part of LAX, mirroring the Theme Building designed by William Pereira, Charles Luckman, Paul Williams and Welton Becket. Though the gas station never landed at the airport, the design was repurposed in Beverly Hills, and the building was completed in 1965…