Ex-gas station/liquor store to be demolished to make way for auto shop expansion

Plans to demolish a former northwest Rochester gas station/liquor store to make way for an addition to auto repair shop have been filed.

Joe Peter, the owner of Joe's Auto and Tire at 1420 Civic Center Drive NW, filed a site development plan with the City of Rochester last week to demolish the former CHS/Cenex gas station/Barrel House Spiritsat 1527 Fifth Place NW, near Civic Center Drive Northwest. The 1,947-square-foot station was built in 1965.

Peter, who acquired the building next to Joe's Auto in October 2017, plans to add an 4,800-square-square addition to Joe's Auto, after the 54-year-old structure is demolished.

The plans show 3,400-square-feet of the space with be used for additional auto service bays. The remaining 1,354-square-feet will used for a commercial tenant.

Barrel House Spirits leased the building from early 2018 to May 31, 2019, when the liquor store closed. Prior to that, it housed a CHS/Cenex convenience store and gas station. CHS closed it in October 2017.

Peter built and opened his 55,000-square-foot auto repair center at 1420 Civic Center Drive NW in 2012. He owns another location nearby at 923 Sixth St. NW as well as one in Winona.

1/3: Once the former CHS/Cenex gas station/Barrel House Spirits at 1527 Fifth Place NW by Civic Center Drive Northwest is demolished, an addition to Joe's Auto and Tire will be built.

2/3: Joe Peter built the Joe's Auto and Tire repair center at 1420 Civic Center Drive NW in Rochester in 2012.

3/3: Heard on the Street — Jeff Kiger column sig