A New Destination Takeout Spot Is Hidden Inside a Bushwick Gas Station (2024)

Anyone who’s spent time around the intersection of Myrtle-Wyckoff in Bushwick knows the BP gas station that sits below the tracks of the whistling above-ground subway. But unless you’re filling up a tank, you may not have been inside. Now there’s reason to visit: Enter through the attached convenience store, nestled next to the shelves stocked with Hostess, there’s a sleek takeout counter, built out with gradient-colored panels, that forms a sunset-colored room-within-a-room.

Blue Hour serves chicken over rice, fried chicken sandwiches, lamb kebabs, and also smash burgers, chicken Parm, and a version of the Hawaiian comfort food, loco moco. It’s opening on June 15, with an abbreviated menu, with a full rollout fittingly on the Summer Solstice (the name is a reference to the time between the twilight and dawn).

It was estimated in 2017 that Manhattan had around 30 gas stations, and reports of closures have only continued as lots sell to developers for millions of dollars. Amongst the subset of gas stations that are still left, just a handful have full-on food stands. At the only gas station below 14th Street, Smacking Burger opened inside a Mobil in April. Others have attempted halal fried chicken, such as Fry Factory in a Flatbush Shell.

But the personalization, care, and quality of ingredients that’s gone into Blue Hour, at 1525 Myrtle Avenue, makes it an especially audacious move.

Blue Hour is Ali Zaman’s first venture outside Astoria and Long Island City, where his family operates Sami’s Kabab House. In 2022, he opened Little Flower Cafe in Queens, an all-day cafe, with modern takes on flavors of Sami’s, such as the firni — a custard with rose water — reimagined as doughnuts. He recently expanded with a satellite location inside the Museum of Moving Image.

Blue Hour was developed with Little Flower partner, Mohamed Ghiasi, the son of the owner of Dunya, an Afghan restaurant in Kensington.

Their fathers went to high school together and dropped out at the same time; then both went on to open top kebab spots. Still, neither of the sons thought they would end up in restaurants. Zaman was interested in theater, while Ghiasi went into real estate. Now, the native New Yorkers are are trying to build a hospitality group that caterers to a younger demographic — with the help of another Bayside, Queens-raised friend, Devlin Claro, who designed the graphics for Blue Hour and Little Flower, and joins the gas station spot as a co-owner. It’s full-circle for Zaman, who finds himself making homemade fried chicken sandwiches when his dad was, at one point, the owner of a Popeyes franchise location.

Devlin Claro/Blue Hour

Devlin Claro/Blue Hour

The gas station idea fell into Ghiasi’s lap. The owner of the BP, which has another gas station near Dunya, approached him with the idea of replacing a nothing-special chain fried chicken attempt in Bushwick. Opening inside a gas station would pose its challenges, but it would also keep them nimble to produce food in a smaller footprint than a typical restaurant — plus the space already had friers ready to go. The team went to work to build out walls to make it feel like its own world.

“I wanted the design of the space to be cinematic, the kind of place you see in a film and you’re like, ‘Where in the world is that? is that even a real place?’” says Claro who fantasizes about pulling Zaman out of his acting retirement some day. “I used to joke that I’d open a food truck to fund our films, but we stayed broke and are still in phase one,” Zaman says with a laugh.

Blue Hour has aspirations to be more than just good for a gas station or a rest stop that joins the ranks of New York’s cab driver restaurants. The owners want it to be a late-night alternative in the area in general. “Bushwick has such amazing late-night taco carts and other Latin American options,” says Zaman. “We wanted to be the spot that just happened to be halal.”

For Ghiasi, “My first thing is always going to be, is this going to be approachable and relatable. Going out to restaurants these days you spend so much money; we don’t want to be that.”

Affordability is a priority — almost all items are under $10 on the menu. Like many new takeout spots, they tip their hats to the fast-food giants. Here, there’s the “Cwunch Wap,” a play on the one at Taco Bell with a name change for trademarking reasons. Dishes have their spins, like tater tots with mushroom powder and MSG, and the menu doesn’t stick to one cuisine. Halal meats are sourced from producers, like Prince Abou’s Butchery, headquartered in Queens, and supplier . “The chicken and rice is the one I’m most nervous for our families to try,” says Zaman.

Devlin Claro/Blue Hour

“Gas station eats provide a unique window into a region and a community, reflecting local tastes . Gas stations have historically been a valuable entrepreneurial foothold for immigrants in America, and today you’ll find some of the best sharska saag, tamales, lamb kabobs, and dak bulgogi sold alongside lotto tickets and 5 Hour Energies at gas stations nationwide,” Eater wrote in 2021. And yet, especially in New York, “gas stations are designed to be used but not enjoyed,” Architecture publication Urban Omnibus reported. Could Blue Hour change that for Bushwick?

Blue Hour wants to stay true to its name and be available until at least 3 a.m. on weekends. That twinkle where twilight meets dawn can be magic and chaos — The exact right time when you might be craving a second dinner before heading back on the train home or back to work.