Fuel up at Rock Hill’s Roasting Company

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the May-June issue of Down Home Magazine, published by The Herald.

When you drive up to the Roasting Company, the first thing you see is the big round Gulf sign. It’s there because the site once was home to a well-known Gulf gas station.

According to owner, Mitch Grant, “It’s the place where grandfathers, grandmothers, politicians and the like would gather in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s to talk about politics, sports and what have ya, while getting their cars serviced by the Williams family.”

If you mention the Gulf Station to anyone who has lived in this area for some time, they’re probably familiar with it.

The design of the building still resembles the station, but with many new upgrades.

There is an outside patio with tables and chairs, a mounted large TV, and heat lamps in the area that once was the service station. When you enter,, to the right, there are three large menu boards containing daily specials, veggies, and sides for ordering. Straight ahead, there is a bar/restaurant for sitting. There also are more hanging televisions playing various sports with shelves of liquor climbing the back wall. It feels like a relaxing place where the rumble of sound and people talking is soothing and comfortable.

It is a place to socialize -- spend time with family and friends.

Now, let’s get on to the food.

It was a Wednesday, the day I met a friend there for dinner. The Wednesday special is Pot Pie. “I’ll have the special please,” I said.

We also ordered a main dish and a salad to share. If you want a restaurant that offers quick service, this is the place. We received the food at our table within minutes of placing our order.

I was filling my tea at the fountain when the food arrived. Oh, the tea! If you love sweet tea, this will be one of your favorite places.

The Pot Pie is presented in a large round, six-inch-diameter, 2-inch-deep aluminum pie dish. Once you peel back the golden crust, up rises the steam from the creamy filling of green peas, new potatoes, carrots, celery and tender shredded rotisserie chicken.

The Chicken on Rice Con Queso entrée was rotisserie chicken served over rice topped with queso. We chose cheese grits and black bean salad for the sides. The cheese grits were thick and cheesy and very good tasting. The bean salad consisted of cold macaroni noodles, beans, corn, red onions, green peppers, all mixed in a spicy mayo cream base. This was not a taste to our liking, but neither of us particularly enjoys eating spicy food.

The Rotisserie Chix Salad is now one of my new favorites. It was a large bowl of greens topped with just the right amount of cheese, tomatoes, black olives, sour cream, jalapenos, cucumbers and tortilla chips. The homemade ranch dressing was very tasty and the crunchy tortilla chips gave it just the right crunch.

The Roasting Company is very affordable considering the portion sizes. We had enough left over for two large to-go boxes and the bill was only $34.

This story was originally published June 10, 2017 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Fuel up at Rock Hill’s Roasting Company."