APCO, Wangaratta: Service station judged best in Asia-Pacific

A service station owner has revealed what it takes to be named the best servo in the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Victorian man Brett Anderson took out the coveted industry title for his fuel and convenience service station in Wangaratta, Victoria last month.

His APCO 24/7 cafe took out the The Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing’s ‘Retailer of the Year’ award over and above thousands of other service stations across the Asia-Pacific region.  

In an appearance on the Today Show on Saturday, Mr Anderson gave an honest answer to the question of how his establishment took out the title. 

‘To tell you the truth I’m not really sure. We have great food, great service and a great town of Wangaratta.’

The servo owner said concentrating on fresh food was one of the reasons for the gong, telling the hosts old potato scallops and soggy sausage rolls weren’t on the menu at the Wangaratta stop.

Mr Anderson’s APCO servo in Wangaratta has ‘great food, great service and a great town’ which he said gave it the winning edge

Instead he said all the products in his store were fresh and prepared on site, including fruit salads, chia bowls, sushi, sandwiches, and classic pastry options.

The food was prepared by chefs working around the clock every day and served starving travellers at all hours. 

‘We do a lot of roasts and that sort of stuff at night time as well… for the truckies,’ Mr Anderson said.

‘Service stations are evolving at the moment and becoming more about healthy food, good food, good coffee and just to make sure people are happy every day. They’re all conscious about what they’re eating nowadays.’

The servo owner then revealed he’d stayed committed to his community throughout the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Instead of shutting up his shop, he expanded on his integral convenience store to keep the town fed. 

So far Mr Anderson has added a grocery store and a cafe to his establishment.