Pile into your Chevy van with some good friends and head out to Texas for some delicious BBQ at the genuine gas station from the 1974 horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Actually, the van used in the original movie was a Ford Super Van, but you get the drift.
To get there, make your way down Texas Highway 71 toward Bastrop and pull into the driveway with a sign that reads “The Gas Station.” You will know you are there if you see the Coca-Cola marquee above the stoop that reads “We Slaughter/BARBQUE.” If it looks familiar, it should, especially for horror fans, because it is the repurposed building from the classic Tobe Hooper film; you know the one.
Brisket, Sausage, and Chili are all on the menu at this Texas BBQ. Rest assured, unlike the Sawyers from the movie, no humans make up any part of the nutritional information.
Sadly, we haven’t visited yet (it’s high on our bucket list), but Sabrina Martinez, a journalist for Medium has and we thought we would pass on what she found to you. Be sure to check out her full story from 2019 at Medium.
Besides being a roadside cafe, The Gas Station is also a Bed and Breakfast. That’s right, you can book a cabin just outside the restaurant for only $129 a night. Apparently, grabbing a reservation is pretty difficult due to the volume of fans, but don’t have a meltdown like Franklin Hardesty (a character from the movie) just keep trying.
Roy and Lisa Rose bought the property in 2015. They started renovating it, with dreams of turning the iconic location into a hospitality business complete with memorabilia from the movie. The gift shop is also where you find an assortment of horror movie merch. They finally finished refurbishing the lot and opened its doors for business in 2016.
“This was Roy’s favorite movie since he was 10 years old. He contacted the owner of the property to see if she would sell it, for years, she was not interested,” They told Medium. “She called on Roy’s 40th birthday and was ready to sell.”
The site also hosts some meet-and-greets for horror fans. On July 15, Danielle Harris (Halloween 4, Hatchet) will be there to mingle with fans, sign autographs and take photos.
Throughout the span of civilization, big, expensive museums have been important in documenting the evolution of society. But, if you ask me people like Roy and Lisa Rose are doing the most important work by preserving places that would otherwise be ignored and forgotten; they aren’t considered meaningful to civilization. Sure there is the Smithsonian which is dedicated to pop culture, but even that curation is limited.
The Gas Station might just be a minor part of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre overall, but it still had an impact. It was the start of the horror movie trope where characters ignore red flags or forewarnings from creepy old people. Hey, you can see a Picasso anytime, and yes that’s exciting, but to actually eat Texas BBQ at a classic movie location where the film is about people killing people and eating them via BBQ, now that’s exciting!
The Gas Station is located at 1073 SH 304 in Bastrop, Texas. It is open from 10 am to 7 pm daily except Mondays. Call (512)-321-SAWS for more details.