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| News & Scoreboards: |
A New Roadside Attraction
Jan Alexander
04/01/2004
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Driving between their Charlottesville, Va., estate and Washington, D.C.,
investment banker/vintner/philanthropist Patricia Kluge and her husband, former
IBM senior executive William Moses, wished they could stop somewhere along the
roadside for a really great cup of espresso or a bit of rabbit terrine or…. Any
gourmand who has traversed America’s highways surely relates to the sensory
deprivation that comes from knowing the only sustenance within miles is frying
in oil behind golden arches.
 Kluge thought there must be a way to
build a better oasis, and thus was born Fuel Co., a minicomplex of gourmet
store, cafe and restaurant all attached to a gas station. With their own $2
million investment, she and Moses opened the flagship Fuel Co. in downtown
Charlottesville in October, “and we are about to see a profit already,” she
says. At home on her 1,300-acre estate, Albemarle House, which borders Thomas
Jefferson’s historic home, Monticello, Kluge likes to cook. She is a certified
saucier, and being British, knows a properly prepared cup of tea can cure
anything.
These days when she travels, Kluge is likely to be scouting sites
that might work as Fuel locations. They will have to be close to urban areas
initially. “We think people will view them as a destination, but they will be
focused around travel and have to include gas stations,” says Kluge. She also is
seeking both active and passive partnerships around the country, “preferably
with people who love food and wine.”
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