NOT JUST FOR FUEL Top: Nena Magdalena Cruz, the lady who brought convenience stores to gasoline stations. —Margaux Salcedo Bottom: Cruz’s original convenience store concept “Bad Habit” at Shell Magallanes station, a favorite pit stop of celebrities back in the day, became the model for Select stores across the nation. (From left): Sharon Cuneta and Rio Locsin shopping —Contributed photos.
Back in the 1980s, gas stations were purely for filling up your gas tank and services related to car maintenance.
But Shell Magallanes was different. Put up by Mario C. Cruz with his wife Nena Magdalena Cruz after early retirement from Pilipinas Shell Co. in 1984, their concept was to have an expressway station which was to be the first “one stop and go” service station that would offer quick services to travelers going south. And so it happened to be the first self-serve gas station in the expressway that had not only car service but also clean toilets, free air and water service.
But Nena also wanted a place where people could gather, so she put up Bad Habit, a convenience store that had imported items. This was at a time when imported goods were hard to come by, i.e., you would have to buy from abroad yourself or get from Cash and Carry or Greenhills: items like blue seal cigarettes, imported chocolates or even imported hygiene products like Crest toothpaste.
Bad Habit became a favorite shopping place and soon, even celebrities were making their way to Shell Magallanes. I had the privilege and joy of browsing through the albums of Tita Nena after one breakfast with The Morning Girls, a barkada of pretty and prayerful women who go to mass every 7 a.m. at St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori in Magallanes, and I was fascinated seeing pics of a very young Rio Locsin, Sharon Cuneta, Jim Paredes, Monique Wilson, and the list goes on.
Soon this model was replicated by gasoline stations nationwide, with the opening of Select and other convenience stores. But Shell Select in Magallanes is special because of items such as Polly’s Chocolate Cake, which has become an iconic chocolate cake, a favorite of families for decades.
They also have other gourmet items such as Cynthia’s Kitchen bottled aligue, Nanay Luisa’s queso de bola spread, Ternura ensaimada from Baguio, Granda’s sylvanas, Sonsi longganisa, La Reina pork chorizo and even Balay Dako piaya.You can now also eat right at Select Magallanes with kiosks such as Turks, Potato Corner and Gongcha.
Thanks to Nena Magdalena Cruz for converting a simple gathering station to a wonderful gathering place! Added bonus: you can hang out here for Polly’s chocolate cake and coffee before or after visiting St. Alphonsus!
