Daisy Hill Market, Gas Station With A Gourmet Chef

It’s not unusual to grab a fast bite when you stop for gas, but a sit-down, three-course meal? Since 2005, in Salisbury Township has been filling up customers as well as their cars.

The attractive pit stop – a six-pump gas station backed by a spacious convenience store, grill and deli with tables inside and out -- serves hot meals and fresh-made sandwiches, salads and desserts. It’s a gas station bistro with a chef, a restaurant with an automotive section. It’s a place for a convenient breakfast, lunch or dinner, or even a midnight snack: Daisy Hill Market is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Owner Dimitri Bozikis says everything is made fresh daily, and his menu is extensive. His biggest problem, he says, is that people just don’t expect such quality and choice at a gas station.

Like any other quick stop, the place has coffee, muffins, bagels and newspapers, a freezer full of Blue Bunny ice cream, a $1 DVD rental kiosk and racks of chips and snacks.

Regular customers, however, have grown accustomed to the eatery’s special touches: baby spinach leaves on the chicken gyros ($5.89); 100 percent Black Angus flame-broiled burgers ($5.49), the high-protein salads made with broiled chicken, nuts, hard-boiled eggs and beans ($9.95), or dessert parfaits made with bourbon-soaked chocolate brownies ($3.95).  

New customers will be surprised by the size of the menu. There are at least six versions each of flame-broiled burgers, flame-broiled hot dogs, cheese steaks, panini, wraps and salads. And there are just as many choices for breakfast, too, from the one-egg sandwich ($1.79) to the Mountain Man Sub (four scrambled eggs, a Black Angus burger, ham, home fries and American cheese in a 12-inch bun($6.99).

Not only are the choices wide, each weekday, in addition to all the regular menu items, there's a long list of rotating specials, including Tex-Mex on Monday, Italian on Tuesday, and All-American on Friday. On Pennsylvania Dutch Wednesdays, for example, the featured breakfast wrap is the Dutch Morning ($3.99) made with smoked turkey, broccoli, mushrooms and cheese. The hot dog of the day is the Dutchman ($3.09), with sauerkraut, mushrooms and spicy mustard. Platter choices ($8.49) might include a pulled turkey barbecue, oven roasted pork, or ham and green beans.

Thursday is Greek day, and recently a diner ordering the beafteki entree ($8.49) found it “very Mediterranean.” The large flattened hamburgers adorned with sliced yellow and red peppers were tender and seasoned with oregano, onions and cumin. Served with a choice of yellow rice, pierogi or green beans, the meal was hearty and satisfying but not at all heavy or greasy.

Owner Bozikis was born in Greece, but grew up in California and Connecticut, where his father worked as a chef. Bozikis was working in New York City as a food product developer when he met his wife, Katina, a Bethlehem native. After the World Trade Center disaster in 2001, they decided to move to Pennsylvania to raise their family. They found an abandoned gas station for sale at the intersection of Susquehanna Street and Emmaus Avenue in Salisbury Township, and built Daisy Hill Market.

Ever since, they’ve worked to make their business unique. The market’s coffee is 100 percent Arabica, made with Colombian and Tanzanian beans. Jars of jams, jellies and pickles on a shelf close to the register are made in Kutztown. The selection of meat jerky is a carnivore’s dream.

In the beverage department, there are fountain sodas and Tazo teas. Fresh orange juice from Florida from a Sun-Kist dispenser at half the price of bottled juice. The beverage case has surprises of its own: high-antioxidant Bai juices and Vita Coco coconut milk combinations with lots of potassium and electrolytes.

“We do try to offer things that are a little healthier,” says Bozikis. 

Daisy Hill Market, 1848 E. Susquehanna St., Allentown, Pa. 18103

Phone: 610-351-6138