A rural Pa. general store gets a boost as the state helps reopen its only gas pump, following Inquirer report
“I was inspired by Kim’s story,” Gov. Shapiro told the crowd outside the store. “She chose to bet on Pennsylvania.”
A single, shuttered gas pump outside a quaint country store in an area of Pennsylvania known as “God’s Country” will reopen after Gov. Josh Shapiro paid a visit last week.
Shapiro visited the White Pine Country Store, Cafe & Lodge, in Germania, Potter County, on July 10 to announce the awarding of a $162,461 Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) grant to help it replace the storage tanks beneath its lone gas pump.
“White Pine Country Store has long been a hub for residents and travelers alike — whether you’re grabbing a bite to eat, stocking up on fishing gear, or gearing up to hit the ATV trails,” Shapiro said at a press conference outside the store. “This store sits at the heart of the Northcentral Regional ATV Trail, one of the Commonwealth’s premier outdoor recreation destinations — but without a working gas pump, folks couldn’t fuel up for the ride. With this investment, we’re supporting a key local business and keeping the outdoor recreation economy growing here in Potter County.”
When the Inquirer visited the store on Memorial Day weekend, the gas pump was covered with a black trash bag. The ATV trail opened that weekend, and those vehicles and larger side-by-side UTVs were crisscrossing the area all day. Riders normally fueled up at White Pine on their ATVs and UTVs as opposed to driving longer distances to fill up gas cans. Those customers, in turn, would come into the store and get food and coffee, owner Kim Manchego said.
Manchego bought the store in 2024, knowing the storage tanks would need to be replaced, but she believed the process would cost her $50,000. She later learned it could cost as much as $200,000.
Locals told the Inquirer the pump was vital.
“If the state wants this to be an ATV destination, they should help with the gas situation,” one man said.
Shapiro was paying attention, claiming he read about the store’s conundrum in the Inquirer.
“I was inspired by Kim’s story,” Shapiro told the crowd outside the store. “She chose to bet on Pennsylvania.”
Manchego and her daughter, Meghan, left the funeral business in Casper, Wyo., to move east to Potter County to buy the circa-1875 store, in what is one of Pennsylvania’s most rural areas.
“The entire ride to Pennsylvania was filled with great anticipation and lots of fear that I walked away from an amazing company and job to run a little country store,” she wrote on the store’s blog.
Shapiro said the ATV trail generates millions of dollars for the townships, counties, and state, along with local businesses like Manchego’s. The gas pump is also vital for residents and emergency services, Manchego said.
Manchego, who was wary of starting a fundraiser or taking out a major loan, said she felt blessed by the governor’s visit.
“It’s more shock than anything else,” she said Monday. “We’re going to have gas flowing again.”
Manchego said she’s currently looking for a contractor who could, ideally, have the tanks installed and gas flowing in a year.