Thomasville #5

Sing Food Store

408 S Broad Street

Thomasville, GA 31792

Revisited: January 26, 2022 | Original Publication: January 29, 2021

Here I am, back at the start of it all! During my revision process in the latter part of 2021, I've been making my way through earlier posts on this blog to spruce them up. As I was looking over this post nearly a year later, my was it boring! I hope to spice things up this time around with a tour and a few unusually special treats, including the blog's first video and a new series of bonus posts. Without further adieu, let's dive in.

Some History

Thomasville #5 was built in 1971 on the site of the Piney Woods Motel on the corner of South Broad Street, Gordon Avenue, and Water Street (now Neel Place). It was Sing's first convenience store in Thomasville and had its grand opening on August 5, 1971. The store was managed by Jack Griffin and the station was managed by his brother Roscoe. The latter was previously the dealer for Thomasville #3, on the corner of East Jackson Street and Hansell Street. I still find it interesting how these early convenience stores essentially operated as separate businesses when it came to the food store vs gasoline sales, as made apparent by the separate management.

Thomasville, GA Times Enterprise Ad - Thomasville #5 - Sing Oil Blog

Thomasville Times-Enterprise - August 6, 1971

Ad for the grand opening of the Thomasville #5 Sing Food Store

I wish I had read through this ad before I decided to revise the post because I actually have a few of the litter bags that were given away with a gas purchase. I'll just have to save it for another time.

Thomasville Times-Enterprise - October 7, 1971

Ad for a weekend sale at the Sing Food Store

I'll include another ad I found from a few months later to highlight how good of a weekend sale they really had. A pound of coffee for 69¢ and a gallon of milk for only $1.09, what a steal! I guess that is ~~transitory~~ inflation at work for you.

I found another mention of this store that I figured worthy of mention: it was apparently the first store in Thomasville to be granted a retail license to sell wine. The January 9, 1973 Times-Enterprise also mentioned that it was one of 10 stores to be granted a beer license at that city commission meeting. Who knew that it would be such a trendsetter in the local alcohol business!

Under the Bird

In the picture below, we see the original pump island and canopy which were moved in 1994 after Autrey took over the station. I think this picture would have been taken in 1971, not long after the Sing Store opened judging by the new pavement and landscaping. You can also see the remnants of a grease pencil line over the clouds. I'm not sure why somebody wrote on this picture but I believe it said "all" below that line; luckily, I was able to wipe it off and get the clear picture we see today.

Thomasville #5 Sing Store in 1970s - View from Neel Place - Thomasville, GA

Thomasville #5 shortly after opening - View from Water Street (Neel Place)

Continuing with the common thread I have found during my research on Sing Oil company, many people in Thomasville remember going to this store as a kid to grab an "ICEE" after school or before heading to Paradise Park across the street. I am always amazed at how many people's first thought after I mention a Sing Store is the frozen drink; I guess they weren't as common back in the 1970's as they are today. I talked to somebody whose father used to work at this store and she said he would always make her bring her own Solo cup if she wanted to get an ICEE, so they wouldn't have to pay for a Sing styrofoam cup. She and her brother would ride up to the station on their tandem bike after school.

Styrofoam Sing cup from the 1980's

Here is a cup I found years ago which somebody had used to hold their green house paint. For the sake of this post, here is the life story of this cup which may or may not be true:

Once upon a time, in a factory far, far away, there was a bin of polystyrene just waiting to be molded into one of a limitless number of things. Maybe a hit Bruce Springsteen CD or a kayak. Maybe a life-saving helmet or a test tube used in cutting-edge research. Instead, this polystyrene wound up in a plant that produces expanded polystyrene (EPS, or styrofoam) cups. The disappointed bin of plastic realized how it would be wasted on a simple cup that "some poor schmuck" would chug some coffee out of before tossing it to the curb to degrade for eternity.
Part of this could come true, as the factory was manufacturing cups for a regional convenience store brand at the time. This batch of the foam would be molded and stamped before being packed and shipped to South Georgia, with this particular cup finding its way to the Thomasville #5 Sing Food Store. After it was shoved into a dispenser near the fountain drinks and ICEEs, the cup sat and awaited its destiny. One lonely afternoon, this cup was finally given its "time to shine" by being selected as the vessel of choice for a Coca-Cola flavored ICEE by a local painter (he needed a refreshment while on break). He proceeds to purchase his beverage and slowly sip it (to prevent brain-freeze) on his drive back to the jobsite. After finishing the ICEE, he sees the useful life of the cup drawing to a close and decides to use it for a portable paint container as a final act of service. The painter then completed his job of painting the house and determines the final resting place for his trusty companion will be lodged under a paint can near the entrance to a dark, cold crawlspace. Crushed by this decision, the cup lie just out of reach of the warm Georgia sun for nearly a quarter of a century — devoid of all meaning.
Until, one day the Georgia sun shown once again in the lonely crawlspace as workers opened the door to inspect the house above. A keen-eyed retail fan spotted an odd sight in the dust. "Is that a Sing logo?" he asked. In fact, it was a long forgotten Sing cup from the late-1980's. Far from mint condition but easily legible, nevertheless. Hope of a new life sprung up for the cup and joy of finding a disposed retail relic filled the person.

From thence, the cup has lived a life of luxury, no longer confined by his paint can oppressor. It shares stories of of the struggle it has endured in an attempt to impress the bundle of NOS Florida maps and the unworn Sing trucker hat it lives next to. While these lucky pieces of history may never experience this degree of strife, the appreciate the sacrifices the cup has made to find its way home. Alas, it is happy to finally make an appearance on The Sing Oil Blog.

I might have to give a little bit of credit to this post for the inspiration behind the story above. With that out of the way, let's move on.

Photo from a 1970's ad for Sing Oil Company at the Thomasville #5 gas pumps

I managed to find a picture taken at this station for late-'70s Sing Oil Company ad. We can see a good view of a Sing gas pump from this era and some of the graphics they used. In the background is Broad Street and the historic Paradise Park. This station is directly adjacent to the Paradise Park Historic District and the Neel House.

Under the Torch

Amoco converted this station to their brand and sold it to a local operator, Autrey Petroleum, around 1993. Autrey would have likely operated the convenience store under their "Sunrise Pantry" branding while selling Amoco fuel out front. I managed to take some pictures of a different Sunrise Pantry / Flash Foods a few years back that I will share in the bonus section later on in this post. Unfortunately, I don't have much information on this station's decade stint sporting the torch-and-oval but we can find a few relics today. For one, the gas pumps still in use in 2022 were installed way-back in 1994, along with a newly relocated canopy; furthermore, both of the Amoco sign posts still stand, only missing the oval sign structure that was mounted on top. The store was also added on to in the early 2000's with a small shop that faces Broad Street.

Under the Helios

Resulting from the BP-Amoco merger of 1998, this store swapped to the BP brand around 2002 and was sold to Flash Foods in 2004. Flash Foods #279 was the only Flash Foods in town to sell BP gasoline (the others, #277, #278, and #280 all sold Chevron before converting to Flash Foods branded gas). This station wasn't as lucky as its other "flashy" siblings because the Waycross, GA convenience store chain decided to sell the it for $565,000 in 2013. The BP sign hardware in the 2011 street view below was subsequently removed, bringing an end to a once-common sight from these direct Amoco-to-BP conversion stations (this saved money because much of the Amoco post could be reused).

I wanted to share this video I found from a 2007 Spanish project that takes place at the Flash Foods; however, we only get to see the gas pumps and a small piece of the storefront. Anybody who has been to a gas station in the '00s will recognize the "bop bop bop" that the pump makes when Jennifer (that's what I'll call her because I don't know her name) lifts the 'regular' nozzle off the pump cradle. The slow-motion portion of the clip gives us a good (although a bit grainy) view of the branding BP used before they launched their "Invigorate" detergent marketing campaign. I personally like the lower panels used on these pumps that feature an outline of the "Helios" logo better than the current "Invigorate" insignia. We unfortunately can't see much of the Amoco Fuels branding, other than the 'silver' and 'ultimate' names for the midgrade and premium fuels, respectively. I can almost guarantee these pumps still have Amoco stickers under the current Exxon ones for each of the fuel grades. If you want a flashback to the days of separate nozzles for each fuel grade, just visit the old Thomasville #5 Sing Store!

Under the Tiger

Since 2013, the store has operated as an Exxon with an independently run convenience store. The current owners have not invested much in upgrading anything about this store. Unfortunately, Flash Foods wiped away most of the interior decor that would have been left by Sing or Sunshine Pantry so that is what we will see on our tour today. The budget was so low for this Exxon conversion that all of the pump nozzles still feature the green, silver, and gold rubber grips left over from BP. There is no way that this station uses EMV compliant credit card readers either so shoppers beware.

Exterior Photos

Former Flash Foods #279 (Thomasville, GA) - January, 2022 - Sing Oil Blog

Former Flash Foods #279 - January 2022

It all starts here

The station is one of the few to still use Sing's exterior lighting package that was probably installed in the 1970s. Most of the big-name convenience store brands have since swapped out the fixtures for more efficient LED models.

Thomasville #5 Light Post - Sing Oil Company

Typical Sing exterior lighting fixture that survives into the 2020's

An additional store front was added around 2000 to the eastern wall of the building which faces Paradise Park. The store is vacant as of 2022 but was most recently an adult "candy shop" (I can't make this stuff up).

Thomas County Property Tax Records - 2018

View of auxiliary store addition from Broad Street

Interior Photos

Although this was my first blog post, it took me almost a year to finally take pictures inside the store. The following set of photos is from my visit in January, 2022 (I'm sure I didn't miss much by waiting to come here).

Former Flash Foods #279 - January 2022

A lot to look at, yet a lot of empty space

We'll start off by looking a the cashier counter directly in front of the door. Based on my trips to other Sing Stores from this era, this sight looks pretty familiar (we are only missing that red Formica).

Former Flash Foods #279 - January 2022

Somebody had a run on the snacks - and toilet paper!

Turning to the left, we see a few shelves of snacks, the fountain drink station, and a lone roll of toilet paper (2020 is rearing its ugly head again). I don't know about you but I'm having some flashbacks to LaGrange #4 with all of those pork rinds! As we'll see later on in the bonus section of this post, take note of the dentil motif border at the top of the wall.

Former Flash Foods #279 - January 2022

Breakfast.

No more Cumberland Island Coffee here; even though they now serve Community Coffee, this coffee corner does not look very appealing. The pre-made sandwiches on the left look even more appetizing.

Former Flash Foods #279 - January 2022

It looks like this store sells more lottery tickets than staples these days.

Here we've got a better view of the ~~lottery~~ cashier counter and some empty shelves that look like they occasionally offer bread. With a Flowers bakery being a block away, you would think they could do better than a single loaf of Sunbeam bread!

Former Flash Foods #279 - January 2022

I bet the white open-faced cooler is pretty old. And Inefficient.

Over on the right wall of the store, we see some extra drink coolers and the restroom in the back right corner. We also see a portion of the bulkhead Sing installed over the drink coolers, which unfortunately has been painted since Sing left.

Former Flash Foods #279 - January 2022

99 bottles of beer in the fridge, 99 bottles of beer . . .

Now we have a (slightly) better look at the back right corner of the store and the built-in drink coolers.

Former Flash Foods #279 - January 2022

Candy galore!

To close out this post, we have a look down the candy aisle toward the cash register. I see a glimpse of some tile work that was obscured by the wall behind the coffee station. While not original to Sing, it makes me think this store could have been modified to add a deli in the mid-'80s. This tile is probably a remnant from Sunrise Pantry. With that being said, let's take a look at the street views before we head on down the road to the former Flash Foods #278.

Street Views

Google Street View - 2013

View from Gordon Avenue

Google Street View - 2011

View from Gordon Avenue

Aerial Views

Google Earth - 2019

Exxon station and auxiliary store

Google Earth -1993

Amoco station with new canopy and pump location

Historic Aerials - 1983

Sing station with original canopy and pump location

Historic Aerials - 1952

Piney Woods Motel on site of future Thomasville #5

'Flash'back Friday

For this post, I decided to try something new and cover a store that would traditionally be out of the scope of this blog. In my upcoming series The Sing Oil Blog: More Than Convenience, I will cover other gas stations and retail stores I found to be of interest but are not directly related to Sing Oil Company. The primary tie-in will be other stores located in the vicinity of a former Sing that have some retail significance of their own, or were just fun to take pictures of! The name of the series, More Than Convenience, comes from Sing's 1980's motto, More Than Convenient, and is meant to signify posts that go beyond the typical convenience stores featured thus far on the blog. I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this story which covers Flash Foods #278!

Courtesy of the Thomas County Tax Assessor - September 10, 2020

Circle K #5150

Flash Foods #278 | Sunrise Pantry #??

6358 US Highway 319 South

Thomasville, GA 31792

I really wish I could find a picture of this store from its days as a Flash Foods (or even better as Sunrise Pantry / Amoco) but the best I could do is this modern picture of Circle K. Located on the busy corner of Pinetree Boulevard and US 319 / Jackson Street, this station was built in 1995 by Autrey Petroleum as an Amoco. Autrey was the primary Amoco operator in Southwest Georgia and subsequently ended up with all of the Sing Food Stores in Thomasville, Camilla, and Albany when Amoco decided to discard them from their portfolio in 1993. I vividly remember passing by this station one morning in 2002 and seeing construction crews remove the Amoco "Self Serve" signs by sliding them down the poles. The next night I had a dream that the Amoco car wash had burned down (which it didn't in real life) and all of the signs were gone so this memory definitely had some sort of impact on me. I didn't realize it until a few days later that they were simply rebranding this station as a Chevron. Up until a few years ago, there was still a small carwash sign and Amoco-era air sign out front. Unfortunately, somebody got the wrong message from the carwash sign and thought it was telling them to drive over it for a wash, not by it. The sign has since been removed.

This station operated as a Chevron from 2002-2011 at which time it was rebranded to sell Flash Foods gas. Flash Foods bought the station from Autrey in 2004 for $1.2 million, which makes sense because this is one of the busiest convenience stores in Thomasville. Due to its close proximity, many people stop here on their way to-and-from Brookwood School or on the way to Tallahassee for one last chance at the cheaper Georgia gas prices. There are also two other gas stations on this corner, with this and the BP being the busiest.

Circle K acquired the Georgia-based convenience store chain Flash Foods in 2016 and has performed (what seemed like) one of the slowest brand rollouts I have ever seen. For several years, many of the stores operated as if nothing had changed, making me wonder if Circle K even planned to put their name on the stores. This store was remodeled in the summer of 2017, only to receive updated Flash Foods graphics on the interior of the store, new, unbranded white gas pumps, the addition of diesel, and a rehabilitated white canopy. It perplexed me why Circle K would spend the money to renovate a store but haphazardly leave behind traces of Flash Foods. It was almost like they couldn't decide whether or not they wanted to keep the stores. Eventually, somebody made the decision to go all-in on the Circle K branding in early 2020, and it wasn't long before all signs of Flash Foods was wiped away. I do know that Flash Foods will be forever immortalized in the hearts and minds of the people who shopped there, including an 8-year-old girl from McIntyre, GA (you've got to watch the clip, it is quality TV). That's enough fluffery, let's venture back to Flash Foods #278!