Inside the first luxury petrol station that’s a huge success in South Africa

·20 Jun 2026

The Pantry has turned a traditional petrol station stop into a destination where customers can fill up their vehicles, shop for groceries, and enjoy restaurant-quality meals.

The idea for The Pantry began during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the Marble Hospitality Group sought a way to restructure its business, as restaurants were among the hardest-hit industries.

Drawing on its experience in fine dining, the group created The Pantry to bring premium food and retail into an everyday shopping environment.

Its first location opened beneath the Marble restaurant in Rosebank, Johannesburg, in 2022, attached to a Sasol service station.

Today, it is one of the busiest forecourts in the city and illustrates how the model has found a market among motorists and local residents alike.

Considering the huge success of the luxury petrol station, our sister publication, TopAuto, visited the site to get an inside look at the unique forecourt.

The Rosebank site immediately stands apart from a conventional filling station. It features eight fuel pumps alongside two Mercedes-Benz-branded electric vehicle charging points.

The forecourt itself is designed with wooden ceiling features, greenery and outdoor seating areas equipped with heaters.

Rather than serving only passing motorists, the space attracts customers who gather for coffee, meals or meetings.

The seating area is often filled with families and groups of friends, with demand extending to the parking bays as shoppers and diners compete for available spaces. Inside, The Pantry resembles an upmarket grocery store more than a convenience shop.

Visitors encounter shelves stocked with fresh produce, meat, frozen foods, toiletries and imported snacks and beverages, allowing customers to complete a substantial grocery shop in one visit.

The store carries speciality products, premium ingredients and items suited to entertaining, including charcoal, firelighters and high-end cuts of meat such as Wagyu steaks for braais.

The success of the Rosebank station has encouraged further expansion

Imported Japanese foods and cocktail ingredients are also available alongside household items. Retail space is complemented by dedicated sections for gifts and lifestyle products, including toys, candles, perfumes and soaps.

The fresh food offering occupies a significant portion of the layout. A bakery produces breads and pastries, while coffee counters serve drinks alongside cakes and croissants.

Separate takeaway counters prepare pizzas, burgers, pasta dishes and roast vegetables, and customers can either eat on-site or take meals home.

Unlike many petrol station food counters, the café seating area functions as a social space in its own right and is regularly busy throughout the day.

The success of the Rosebank operation has encouraged further expansion. A permanent branch opened in Hazelwood, Pretoria, followed by a third location in Bassonia, south of Johannesburg, at the newly developed Omni Square Shopping Centre.

The Bassonia store is the largest in the group’s portfolio and separates its grocery shopping area from its restaurant and grab-and-go sections to improve customer flow.

It also includes a sushi bar alongside the bakery, café and prepared food counters that have become central to The Pantry brand.

Additional formats have also been introduced, including a pop-up outlet at Mall of Africa, a delivery service and a specialised location within Standard Bank’s Rosebank offices.

Another Pantry is planned as part of the Olympus development in Sandton, which will also include a Marble restaurant and the hospitality group’s first hotel venture.

The business traces its origins to 2016, when celebrity chef David Higgs and businessman Gary Kyriacou established the Marble Hospitality Group, which later expanded with restaurants including Marble, Saint and Zioux.

The Pantry represents a different direction for the company, combining hospitality with grocery retail and convenience shopping.

While only the Rosebank branch is integrated with a petrol station and operates around the clock, the Pretoria and Bassonia locations function as standalone stores with larger parking areas and expanded grocery offerings.

For many visitors, stopping for fuel has become only one part of the experience, with shopping, dining and socialising now drawing just as much attention as the pumps outside.