Weigel's is a gas station

Filling station

A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...

 and convenience store

Convenience store

A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...

 chain

Chain store

Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...

 located in the Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

 area.

History

The Weigel family entered the dairy business in 1931 with a "herd" of four cows, selling raw milk for nine cents a gallon. In 1936, a used pasteurizer was purchased and the dairy became one of the first in East Tennessee to distribute pasteurized milk. A total of 12 people were employed by the farm and dairy at the time.

In 1938, management of the operation passed completely to Lynn B. and William W. Weigel, both men having graduated from the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

's School of Dairy Science. Lynn was in charge of the office and dairy operations and William was in charge of farm operations and marketing. In 1947, the new plant was modernized, and ice cream

Ice cream

Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...

 and cottage cheese

Cottage cheese

Cottage cheese is a cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is drained, but not pressed, so some whey remains and the individual curds remain loose. The curd is usually washed to remove acidity, giving sweet curd cheese. It is not aged or colored. Different styles of cottage cheese are made from...

 production were added.

Primarily to provide an outlet for their returnable gallon milk jugs and other dairy products, the Weigel brothers opened drive-through stores in East Tennessee

East Tennessee

East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...

. 500 square feet (46.5 m²) Store Number 1, on Sanderson Road in Knoxville, opened on December 9, 1958. Walk-in stores didn't appear until June 1964, when Store Number 12 opened on Oak Ridge Highway.

Today

Today Weigel's Farm Stores, Inc. operates nearly 50 dairy and convenience stores, all within a 50 miles (80.5 km) radius of corporate headquarters in Powell, Tennessee

Powell, Tennessee

Powell is an unincorporated community in Knox County, Tennessee, United States. The United States Geographic Names System classifies Powell as a populated place. The area is located in the Emory Road corridor, just north of Knoxville, southeast of Clinton, and east of Oak Ridge...

. Weigel's sells their own brand of milk, fruit juice, and iced tea. They also have an award-winning selection of coffee, cappuccino, and hot chocolate.