SeQuential Retail Fueling Station Sold

BUSINESS & DEVELOPMENT

New owner to rebrand SeQuential Biofuels station, switch to 76 gas

BY GRACE CHINOWSKY
August 5, 2025

The quirky Eugene gas station, under new ownership, has expanded its big-brand merchandise and will soon be supplied with fuel from giant 76. The news has ruffled feathers among regulars who appreciated the spot for its cafe and healthy snacks.

SeQuential Biofuels, the distinctive Eugene gas station off McVay Highway known for its grass roof and organic snacks, will change its name and start pumping gas from energy giant 76 in "a couple months," its new owner told Lookout Eugene-Springfield Tuesday, Aug. 5.

Jask Khinda — the owner of JSK Eugene LLC, which bought the station in April 2025 — said the sale was for more than $3 million but declined to state the exact amount. The station will feature 76-branded gas pumps and other fueling equipment when it switches suppliers from Mahoney Environmental to Phillips 66, which owns 76.

Just off Interstate 5 at the 30th Avenue exit, the station is familiar to many Eugene residents and commuters more for its retail market — with kombucha on tap and deli food — than its gas. The SQHub Market Cafe opened in 2006.

That's where the change in ownership is most visible: Staff have consolidated the station's health-conscious merchandise onto one shelf, while big-brand snacks and drinks now line the rest.

The space will soon be renamed JSK Eugene Market Hub Cafe, Khinda said. The owners registered the entity name July 15, business records show.

"We're taking down the SeQuential sign, but everything else, business operations-wise, it's all the same," he said.

He added that he had hoped to preserve the market's former name but the former owners did not grant the use of the "SQ" name during negotiations for the sale.

The former owners — Ian Hill and Tyson Keever — couldn't be immediately reached for comment. The website for the market features a goodbye message thanking customers for their business.

Jose Jimenez, the new manager at the station, said it now employs 11 people — down from 21 before the sale. All current employees began working there before the ownership change, he said.

Once the station officially swaps fuel suppliers, Jimenez said, staff will install new 76-branded wraps on gas pumps, add brighter canopy lighting and illuminate its new sign with LED lights. The station will continue to offer renewable diesel, as did the station's former supplier.

Phillips 66 did not return a request for comment on the transition timeline. The station already appears on 76's online store locator under "McVay Station." With its addition, there will now be 13 76 gas stations in Eugene.

Jimenez said the new owners plan to preserve the station's iconic grass roof "as far as he knows," but they have struggled to find a landscaper to maintain it.

According to the station's website, 20 native species grow in 5-inch-deep soil on the market's roof; the website says the species don't require water during hot months. As of Monday, the grass on the roof appeared yellowed and dry under the Willamette Valley's summer sun.

"The problem is that I can't even get up there," Jimenez said. "I don't have a ladder that big and I don't know what's up there, so I can't just get a lawnmower. I would do it myself."

Like Khinda, Jimenez emphasized that the market's offerings have not changed, aside from an effort to stock more products that appeal to a wider range of customers instead of "one specific clientele."

"We have a whole section dedicated to organic on that side," Jimenez said, gesturing to the shelves featuring healthy merchandise. "I want to let people know there's still pretty much everything that was here, consolidated into one area."

Jimenez said the cafe's menu, which includes hot sandwiches and brewed beverages, will stay the same, and new items, like flavored Red Bull drinks, will be added.

The cafe will open daily at 6 a.m., earlier than the previous 7 a.m. opening, and will close at 4 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It was previously open until 8 p.m. daily. Jimenez attributed the reduction in hours to labor costs and frequent food waste.

Customers can still order food and drinks from the cafe online.

Despite the new owners' pledge to preserve the gas station's most popular features, some Eugene residents have expressed disappointment — in person, in Google reviews and in online forums like Reddit.

"So sad that this place has turned into a 7-11! Now I can go anywhere to get the same crap every other fuel station has," George Mehullick wrote in a Google review of the business about a month ago. "Hello new owners! This is what made this place unique along the I-5 corridor!"

During a visit on Monday, one customer muttered at the counter: "This place is going commercial? This is horrible."

Jimenez said he understands why people are "upset," given that SeQuential owned the station for years. But blowback from customers has eased, with staff hearing complaints about the new ownership only about once a week, he said.

"I want everyone to give us a chance," he said. "Don't just think that we're bad, or we're bringing all this junk, like some people have said. There's a market for everyone. Hopefully it goes good, and we can find a happy medium between the regular customers and travelers."

Jimenez said staff plan to hold a grand opening when the station officially transitions to 76 gas.

For nearly two decades, the station's fuel came from SeQuential Biofuels, which produced biodiesel from recycled cooking oil. In 2023, the supplier merged with Mahoney Environmental — owned by Finnish oil refiner Neste — and switched to renewable diesel.

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