Lakewood Filling Station / Lakewood Grocery

35.983224, -78.931032

2300
Durham
NC
Cross Street
Year built
1920s
Year demolished
1970s-1980s
Neighborhood
Building Type
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lakewoodfillingstation_1930s.jpg
Lakewood Filling Station, 1930s (Courtesy Durham County Library)

First appearing in the 1923 city directory, this roadside stop was first operated by T. R. Pendergraft.  In subsequent years it changed hand several times, and was run in various periods by members of the Hobbie (c.1940s), Carroll (c.1950s), and Pickett (c.1960s) families.

lakewoodgrocery_1976.jpeg
Lakewood Grocery, 1976 (Courtesy Bob Blake)

The original building was demolished in the years after the above photo, and was replaced by the current structure set further back from the road with a small parking lot.


05.22.11

Since 2013, it has been home to Golden Pizza and Subs (formerly located in the nearby Lakewood Shopping Center).

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35.983224,-78.931032

Comments

I am confused... is the yellow building on the left in the 05.22.11 pic the same building as in the 1976 pic?

Todd

No - if you look through the trees on the first picture, you can just make out one of the porch columns of that structure in the background. The grocery stood on the site of the parking lot/building in the foreground.

GK

This was Pickett's Store when we were growing up in the 60's. The owners lived next door to us on the dirt part of Wallace Street, which ran between Ward and James Street. I remember they had a train set in the basement of their house. I think their nephew took the store over from them. He opened a steak house in Lakewood Shopping Center using train cars. These were later moved to the Carolina Duke Motor Lodge to become the Wabash Steak House.

I left a comment about this store with a little info of some pre 1960 owners on the Lakewood fire station photo.

When I was a child, the store was operated by the Hobby brothers. They later sold to Mr. Carroll. Mr. Carroll sold to 'Pappy' Pickett. The Hobby brothers later operated a grill near Maplewood Cemetery (grill was segregated with two doors and areas). Mr. Carroll later operated a Sunoco service station on Chapel Hill Street.

I was so happy to see this photo. I sent a link to it to all my siblings, and my mom. We grew up on Ward St, and during the 60's and 70's we would walk to this store, which we called Pickett's, for candy. The mural on this side is just iconic and unforgettable to me. It's really a blast from the past to see it.

Mike, I grew up at 1914 Ward St., and I remember walking to Lakewood Elementary for school. We would pass through that dirt dead-end road next to Pickett's and then through the woods. Every day on the way home, we would stop by Pickett's for pixie sticks.

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