On the road for the South’s best gas station food

By Leoneda Inge,

Published January 4, 2024 at 3:00 PM EST

Mark Fratesi owns Fratesi’s in Leland, Mississippi. It's one of the gas stations and eateries featured in Kate Medley's new book, "Thank You Please Come Again," about how gas stations feed and fuel the American South.

Kate Medley's new book, "Thank You, Please Come Again" is an exploration on how gas stations fuel and feed the South. It's out now, from the Bitter Southerner. — Kate Medley's new book, "Thank You Please Come Again" is an exploration on how gas stations fuel and feed the South. It's out now, from the Bitter Southerner.

Courtesy of Kate Medley — Kate Medley is a freelance photojournalist and filmmaker based in North Carolina. Some of her work has appeared on WUNC's website.

Kate Medley travels across the South. A lot.

It's part of her job as a freelance visual journalist and filmmaker working with national and regional outlets.

So, it was only natural when Medley started to document the places that made her want to stop. Taquerias in the backs of gas stations. The best banh mi in New Orleans. Senegalese food in a Circle K.

She knew that restaurants at gas stations were common while growing up in Mississippi, but what she didn’t know - until she left the Magnolia State - was just how unique and integral they are to life in the South.

Kate Medley joins co-hosts Leoneda Inge and Jeff Tiberii to share stories of the people she met, and the places she documented.

In 200 photographs, Medley's first book is a visual road trip through the region.

Guest

Kate Medley is a freelance photographer who’s contributed to NPR, The New York Times, WUNC and many other publications. She’s the author and photographer of Thank You, Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South out fall 2023.