A Victorian service station delivering everything from dim sims and potato cakes to sushi, paninis and roast dinners is in the running to be crowned the world’s best ‘foodvenience store’.
APCO Mount Duneed, near Geelong, has made the final 12 in the 2026 Best Foodvenience Store in the World competition, just 15 months after opening its doors.
But it’s not your average servo.
Alongside the petrol pumps, the store boasts a 24-hour cafe, a full supermarket, barista-made coffee and a wide range of fresh food, including sandwiches and wraps prepared in-house daily.
It also stocks locally sourced produce and products from small businesses across the region, including honey, homemade biscuits, dips and preserves.
Retail partner Ryan Dawson, who runs the business on a franchise model, told SmartCompany the business has developed far beyond your average service station.
“It’s like a cafe, supermarket, service station, all mixed in one,” Dawson said.
“People don’t just come here to buy fuel, they come here to do their shopping, and have lunch, and have breakfast. We do roast dinners at night.”
The store was one of 24 stores shortlisted for the competition, with the winner to be announced in Germany on November 12.
“We’re pretty stoked,” Dawson said.
“We’ve put in a fair bit of effort. It’s been a fair few years in the making prior to it [opening]. To get some of that reward has been pretty cool.”
Serving up something special
APCO has grown from starting out in Warrnambool almost 60 years ago to more than 30 stores throughout Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
But Dawson said APCO Mount Duneed had taken a different approach, due to its location just outside Victoria’s Surf Coast, and the type of customers it attracts.
“People [are] a bit more health conscious, and looking for more of the gourmet offerings,” he said.
“We had to tailor our offering to meet what those customers demands, so that’s what we’ve done and it’s going pretty well.”
While the store still serves traditional servo favourites like dim sims and potato cakes, they are now competing with fresh fruit and vegetables, cafe food and the grocery range.
Local producers have also been getting in on the business.
These include Edmonds Honey from a neighbouring business, handmade yo-yos from a baker in Mount Duneed, dips and soups from Wholefood Kitchen in Torquay, and Pennyroyal Preserves.
“We’re really into our local businesses, so we support local where we can,” he said.
The store has become a destination in its own right, as customers who may otherwise have driven to the supermarket, cafe or takeaway all in one place frequently now visit APCO Mount Duneed.
It also means the business is not totally reliant on people driving in to fill up their tanks.
The hard yards behind the hype
Despite the international recognition, Dawson said getting the business off the ground had been anything but easy.
The store opened in July 2025, and it took a bit of patience to get up and running.
“That’s been a bit of a slog, for the first 12 months or so to get that going, but the numbers are looking great now,” he said.
Warmer weather has certainly helped the store’s turnover, but the business is facing challenges around staffing and the economy.
Almost 40 employees means Dawson’s main headache is rostering.
Fuel prices and broader economic pressures have also impacted the business, but Dawson said its diverse offering has helped it weather the challenges.
“Not being pigeonholed into just a fuel outlet has really helped with that as well,” he said.
When asked what advice he would give other small business owners looking to stand out, Dawson emphasised the importance of getting the basics right.
“The biggest thing for me was building a great team to start off with,” he said.
“And just tapping into who our customer actually is, they’re very different depending on where you’re located.”
Taking on the world’s best
The Mount Duneed store is now competing against some of the world’s leading convenience retailers, with fellow finalists from Ireland, the United States, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, South Africa and Argentina.
Dawson acknowledged the stiff competition, pointing to three impressive finalists from Ireland.
“They look amazing, those [Irish] places, and there’s a place in the US that has a full sports bar,” he said.
The global publicity has already paid off for APCO Mount Duneed, following national television and radio coverage of its nomination.
“We saw a pretty big uptake in customers yesterday, which was pretty cool,” Dawson said.
As for the awards ceremony in Germany, whether Dawson gets the call-up from APCO head office remains to be seen.
“I told them my passport’s ready,” Dawson joked.
Retailers and suppliers can cast their votes for the competition’s three best stores until November 5, with industry votes and judges’ scores determining the winner.
Vote here: https://www.globalconvenience.com/best/foodvenience/vote/
Extracted in full from: https://www.smartcompany.com.au/retail/victorian-servo-vies-for-worlds-best-foodvenience-store/
