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Photo courtesy of Detroit 75 Kitchen
A gas station kitchen can be more than a backup plan when the menu is built around food people intentionally seek out. Around Metro Detroit, counters tucked inside gas stations, truck stops, and similar spaces are serving loaded fries, chopped cheese subs, halal burgers, and more plates, all with the pace of a quick stop and the satisfaction of a full meal.
Amo Sami’s Shawarma
Multiple locations in Metro Detroit
Amo Sami’s Shawarma has built much of its identity around crispy shawarma, with sandwiches grilled until the pita turns golden. The Sterling Heights and Wayne locations are set inside gas stations, while their other locations offer similar menus. At these counters, you can find Samis like their viral shawarmas, alongside the Falafel, Batata, and Sojuk (sujuk sausage) choices. For plant-based fans, the OOPSIE! Vegan Beef and Scoot Over Cheek’n Shawarma Samis. Sides such as falafel chips, fries, and pickled turnips help turn a fast stop into a full plate, especially for anyone looking for garlic sauce, warm pita, and a meal that travels well.
Munch House
5949 East 10 Mile Road, Warren
Munch House leans into the name with a menu built for cravings that go beyond a bag of chips or a fountain drink. The Warren stop serves a long list of munchies, including onion rings, cheese sticks, jalapeño poppers, mac n’ cheese bites, hush puppies, fried okra, and fried sweet corn. Crunch Wraps come in versions such as the O.G., Flaming Hot Cheeto, and Cheesy Steak, while the hoagie side of the menu includes Philly Cheesesteaks and Detroit Chop Cheese. There are also Haute Dogs, including Detroit Coneys and a Flaming Hot Dog with melted cheddar cheese and Flaming Hot Cheetos, plus wraps like the Smashed Mac n’ Cheese Burger Wrap, loaded fries, burgers, fish sandwiches, fried shrimp, and other fried carryout staples. The gas station eatery format suits the menu well, which is designed around hot, handheld, and snackable food that can still become lunch or dinner.
Lanee’s Grill
7305 Grand River Avenue, Detroit
Lanee’s Grill brings a bodega-inspired story to Grand River, with a menu that moves through subs, loaded fries, wings, burgers, and more. Ali Alsailani shares, “My father used to run a bodega in Brooklyn, NYC, and spent years cooking in the deli, [making] chopped cheese, burgers, and pastrami. I used to go to work with him every weekend as a child and fell in love with the idea of owning my own store or restaurant. When we moved to Michigan in 2017, I became a freshman in high school, and I still thought about opening a restaurant…and finally, after college, I did it and got my cousins and brother to do it with me.” That background is easy to read in the food: chopped cheese built like a deli-counter staple, cheesesteak subs with grilled meat and melted cheese, wings that range from hot honey and mango habanero to garlic parmesan, and mac and cheese- or gyro-loaded fries that fit the late-lunch or after-work stop.
Mr. Kabob Xpress
Multiple locations in Metro Detroit
Mr. Kabob Xpress traces back to Berkley, where the original location helped connect gas station dining with Mediterranean carryout in a way that stuck with Metro Detroit diners. The menu includes shawarma entrees, pita wraps, and salads, alongside standout foo foo fries, jalapeño cilantro hummus, veggie grape leaves, and more. A quick order can stay simple with a chicken shawarma wrap or turn into a fuller meal with a combo plate for two, hummus, salad, and fries. The Xpress format keeps the pace efficient, but the menu still carries the structure of a full Mediterranean meal, with grilled meats, veggies, and sides working together rather than feeling like add-ons.
Taystee’s Burgers
Multiple locations in Metro Detroit
Taystee’s Burgers opened its original Dearborn location in 2014 and quickly became known for made-to-order halal burgers from its gas station setting. The burger menu is built for customization, with toppings that can include Mac N Cheese Bites, fried eggs, mozzarella sticks, grilled pineapple, or jalapeño poppers. Whether you go for the Pizza Burger topped with motz sticks and pizza sauce or the Breakfast Burger built between two grilled cheese sandwiches, you’ll remain impressed by the variety. The menu also stretches into hot dogs, wings, bowls, wraps, and loaded fry choices, giving the counter the feel of a burger spot that grew from quick-stop convenience into a fuller takeout routine.
Detroit 75 Kitchen
4800 West Fort Street, Detroit
32275 Stephenson Highway, Madison Heights
Detroit 75 Kitchen’s flagship location still operates from the truck stop under the Ambassador Bridge, and its sandwich menu reflects the needs of drivers, workers, and travelers who want something substantial. Detroit 75 Kitchen shares, “The first sandwiches at Detroit 75 Kitchen were built for truck drivers who needed something they could eat on the road. But it did not stay a truck stop secret for long. Locals became regulars. Lines stretched down Fort Street. People started coming straight from the airport with their luggage in tow just to try the food.” The menu ranges from the Orleans Shrimp Po’Boy, Detroit Style Cheesesteak, Atwater Chicken Sandwich, Corktown BBQ Beef Sandwich, and Russell Street Vegetarian Sandwich, to the I-75 Chicken Shawarma, along with cheesesteak egg rolls, fish and chips, BBQ chicken egg rolls, Pomegranate Thyme Fattoush Salad, and triple-fried hand-cut garlic cilantro or Cajun fries. It’s got truck stop food in the most literal sense, shaped around sandwiches, fries, and egg rolls that make sense for people eating between destinations.
These gas station and truck stop kitchens make the case for slowing down before writing off a quick gas stop as ordinary. The draw is within the menus: crispy shawarma wrapped in pita, crunch wraps with fried sides, chopped cheese subs, burgers stacked with unexpected toppings, and sandwiches built for the road.
This article has been updated to include new information. The original article was published on July 31, 2015, and was authored by Amber Ogden.
