Patriot Ledger: “High-end” gas station, convenience store, cafe coming to Route 3A in Quincy

QUINCY – Piping-hot pizza, made-to-order breakfast sandwiches and even gourmet salads will be on the menu at the city’s newest gas station this winter when Neon Marketplace, a Rhode Island-based chain, opens its first South Shore store in Quincy.

Bahjat Shariff, brand leader for Neon Marketplace, said this week that the under-construction store at the intersection of Southern Artery and Washington Street (Route 3A) should be set to open by December. It will be the chain’s farthest store from its Cranston, Rhode Island,

“It’s really thrilling and exciting,” Shariff said. “Most people seemed very excited at the hearing I went to, and there may be some people who wish we weren’t there, but I think it presents an opportunity for the city and the neighborhood. I think we’re bringing an upgrade to the area and a beautiful building to the block.”

Shariff said the store, which will sit on 1.1 acres created by combining three lots, will be about 5,000 square feet and will look like many of Neon Marketplace’s existing storefronts with brick, clean lines and a modern feel. It will have eight gas pumps, and Shariff said there are plans for electric vehicle charging stations.

“It’s what we call a ‘marketplace prototype’ store. It will have a full pizza oven, patio, beer and wine for retail sale, a full kitchen, and a high-end convenience store,” Shariff said. “We are really thrilled about it.”

Food options will include pizza, sub sandwiches, salads, burgers, breakfast sandwiches, coffee, espresso drinks, lattes and more. The store will be open 24 hours a day. Quincy will be the chain’s fifth location. Shariff compared it to a recentlyopened location in Warwick, Rhode Island, where Neon Marketplace took over the property of a gas station that had been closed for years.

“Once it was open, people were really excited about the restoration and it gave the entire intersection a new life,” he said.

The new lot in Quincy was made by combining 453 and 465 Washington St. with 857 Southern Artery. The properties were previously a parking lot and the Shred Pilates and Spin studio.

Neon plans to further expand into Freetown, Worcester and West Springfield by next year, with plans for a wider rollout in the coming years.