Wilber Jenkins opened his Rocket Oil service station around 1947 at 3101 Gandy Blvd as the Dennis-Jenkins Co. service station. The company adopted the name Rocket Oil Co. in 1949. It was a great name at the time as futuristic visions of space travel became embedded in the U.S. culture. Lithographed tin toy rocket ships, toys, and robots became popular. Cars became sleeker and more streamlined, all as outer space and rockets came into focus. But the name also became contentious. In 1954, Rocket Oil filed a trade name dispute suit against the Sinclair Refining Co. for selling their gasoline under a similar name, Rocket Fuel. Litigation dragged on for two years, and in 1956, Rocket Oil lost its suit in federal court. Rocket Oil Corporation dissolved in 1964.

By the mid-1960s, Jim Hupe’s Texaco was offering gas, tires, and service here, and by 1971, it was Bill Olive’s Texaco. In 1981, Southland Corporation, the world’s largest operator, franchisor, and licensor of 7-Eleven stores, petitioned and received zoning to sell alcohol on the property, and this 7-11 store was built. It opened in the early 1980s.

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