When I was a kid, Southern California used to have so many gas stations, or service stations, as we called them. As time went on and oil companies swallowed one another, the number of stations shrank. Some corners near my parents' house used to have three gas stations. No more.
While across-the-street competitors are still fairly common, they don't actually seem to want to compete, as there are those stations--actually glorified repair garages that also have gas--with prices so high that no one would choose to buy gas and only gas there. As electric cars have become more ubiquitous, the trend of dying gas stations has generally continued.
Except that in the past three years or so, eastern L.A. County seems to have all these new--or at least new-to-SoCal--brands: Egas, G&M, Berri Brothers, etc.
This station recently appeared at a storied corner in La Mirada. I believe it was a Mobil back in the day. It has a garage and small convenience store, but you come here because the gas is cheap. Not Costco cheap, but cheap nonetheless.
Gas is generally ten cents cheaper per gallon when you pay with cash. The cashier isn't friendly, but he's not mean or gruff either. He's just stoic. read more