Palm Beach's Only Gas Station Is Coming Back as Palm Petrol. Here's What Else Is Changing on Its Block

"I grew up filling my bike tires at the station and getting candy bars after school," Alex Griswold told the Palm Beach Daily News in June.

Griswold now controls the island's only gas station at 340 S. County Road, the one most people still call Gray's. It closed on June 28 for a renovation, and he plans to bring it back as Palm Petrol. Over the same summer, the businesses on either side of the station took on their own projects. Almost every one of them keeps an existing island fixture going, and that explains why this stretch of Midtown is coming back slowly, one month at a time.

A 1956 Gulf Station, Restored

There has been a filling station on this corner for almost a century. A 2016 Palm Beach Daily News history traces it to the Weybrecht Service Station, listed as early as 1927. By 1951 it was the Gulf Palm Beach Service Station, and the building that opened in 1956 kept the Gulf name. Town staff records credit the 1956 design to P. R. L. Hogner. Richard Gray and his father took over the lease in 1979 and bought the land and building in 1986. They sold the station to a local investor in 2005, and Gray stayed on to run it.

In March 2025, a Delaware LLC named for the property's address paid $11.94 million for the station. Armata Holdings Management Corp. manages that company, and Griswold controls Armata. Griswold has told the Town Council that the purchase came after he and a larger group of residents pooled money when they heard the station might be sold. He has not named the other investors. He also recently stepped down from the town's Landmarks Preservation Commission. He has said he intends to keep the property a gas station and calls it an important town-serving use.

The commission approved the redesign unanimously at a December 2025 meeting. The Town's minutes date that meeting December 17. Caroline Forrest of MHK Architecture presented the building, and John Schmidt of Schmidt Nichols presented the landscape and hardscape. The approved plans take the building back to its mid-century look:

• A flat roof replaces the S-type Mediterranean tile, matching the 1956 profile.
• The exterior is painted white, with white porcelain tile on some surfaces and green-and-white detailing.
• One of the four garage stalls becomes retail space. The convenience store grows from 605 to 1,699 square feet.
• The three remaining service bays get paneled-glass doors that match the store's new windows.
• New pumps go in, and the station keeps full-service fueling with attendants.

The station will still handle tire nail removal, oil changes and diagnostics. The larger store will carry the usual candy, snacks and drinks, along with gifts, baked goods, wine and specialty items, mostly from long-established local purveyors.

The plans also aim to keep the building at its original height. The station's finished floor sits at 5.3 feet NAVD. Town staff put the required elevation at 7 feet, a 6-foot base flood elevation plus 1 foot of freeboard. The requested variance would let the existing building and its new addition stay where they are, without raising or floodproofing them. The commission endorsed that request, but the variance itself still went to the Town Council for a decision. Raising the floor 1.7 feet would change how a 1956 storefront meets the County Road sidewalk.

Palm Petrol's Reopening Schedule

Griswold described a phased reopening to the Daily News in June.

The fuel date has passed, but no reopening has been publicly confirmed. The most recent local report, from July 16, said the station was closed for renovations "until at least October." The Palm Petrol website shows the line "Preserving Our Service Station" and a contact form, with no schedule posted. Griswold has said more details about the station's services will be announced this fall. Treat each date in the table as a target until the station confirms it.

Where to Fill Up Until Then

Since late June, island residents, workers and household staff have had to cross a bridge to buy gas. The Palm Beach Daily News listed the nearest stations by bridge in July:

1. Flagler Memorial Bridge: Marathon at 900 N. Dixie Highway, or Chevron at 1229 N. Dixie Highway at Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.
2. Royal Park Bridge: Exxon at 2615 S. Dixie Highway at Belvedere Road, or BP at 701 Belvedere Road.
3. Southern Boulevard Bridge: 7-Eleven at 301 Southern Boulevard, or Marathon at 4000 S. Dixie Highway.
4. Lake Worth Bridge: Chevron at 102 N. Federal Highway, or Orion Fuels at 401 Lake Avenue, both in Lake Worth Beach.

None of them offers what Bluewater Healthy Living called one of Florida's rare full-service pumps.

C. Orrico's Building Next Door

Griswold's plans for this block go beyond the station. A separate entity he controls, 336 S County LLC, paid a recorded $9.5 million for the commercial building immediately north of the station. The deed was recorded June 5, and the sellers were the Orrico family's 336 Partners Inc. That building at 336 S. County Road has long been home to the fashion retailer C. Orrico.

C. Orrico is staying in the building. The store closed at the end of May for a renovation and a downsizing. In a June 3 Palm Beach Post report, the store was described as "returning in November" in a smaller space inside the same building. No reopening announcement has followed. For now, November remains the owners' forecast.

Together, the two buildings mean one owner now holds the station and its neighbor, and each is reopening on its own schedule while keeping the same use it had before.

Coffee at the Church Mouse, and New Life for the Le Bar Space

A short walk south, at 378 S. County Road near Town Hall, the Church Mouse is adding something new to an old island institution. The Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea owns the secondhand shop. On July 15, the Town Council unanimously approved a special exception for a small coffee counter inside the store. The counter will serve Pumphouse Coffee Roasters beans from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Under the approval it will have no food, no seating and no exterior signs. The Rev. Tim Schenck, Bethesda-by-the-Sea's rector, calls it "coffee with a purpose." The proceeds will support the church's local charitable work. The shop also stayed open this summer, which was a break from its usual seasonal schedule. No opening date for the counter has been announced.

Next door, at 380 S. County Road, the former Le Bar space is getting a new tenant. The George x Avenue 31 website lists that address with the words "OPENING 2026." The site describes an Italian-Mediterranean restaurant and lounge from a brand that began in Monte-Carlo. Le Bar, which the Daily News once described as Palm Beach's only wine bar, closed in June 2022 for what was announced as a summer renovation. In March 2023 it was still closed, and its owner said Town approvals had come too late in the year to finish construction that season. As of October 1, Palmer reported only that Avenue 31 is headed to the island this season. No month has been given.

The Larger Projects Are on Longer Timelines

The Midtown block counts its schedule in months. The island's bigger restaurant projects are counting in years.

Almond, at 207 Royal Poinciana Way, served its last season in May 2024. Élephante, the coastal Italian restaurant from Nick Mathers' Wish You Were Here Group, is planned for that landmarked space along with a market and bakery. By April, the Daily News reported that all systems appeared to be go. As of Palmer's October 1 roundup, the exact opening date still had not been announced.

On Worth Avenue, Stephen Starr is planning a 165-seat restaurant in the former Neiman Marcus building at 151 Worth Ave. It is tentatively called Room Service, and the building has been vacant since 2020. The Town Council conditionally approved its special exceptions on September 9. Starr told the council he wants a neighborhood restaurant that Palm Beach residents return to regularly. The building's owner, TZ Capital, says it could open as early as December 2027. The Daily News report mentions possible dishes including lobster mac and cheese, meatloaf, and Peking duck as a Sunday special.

Back on South County Road, the next date on the calendar is Palm Petrol's November 1 target for the service bays. That is also when C. Orrico expects to return next door.

We follow these Midtown changes closely, from the station's restored roofline to the buildings changing hands around it. If you are thinking about a property within walking distance of County Road, or would like to see what is available before it reaches the market, Jennifer Hasozbek-Garcia and Ronnie can show you our private listings.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.