Beef Jerky Experience Coming to Wildwood

For the past few years, Riggins Gas has been going through a massive transformation.

Located at 325 W Rio Grande Ave in Wildwood, the Riggins Gas Station announced back in 2020 that they would be demolishing their existing station and making it into a Sinclair Gas Station.

Sinclair Gas Stations was an older gas company that opened back in 1919. The brand became a big hit during the 50s with its mascot the Sinclair Dino and its catchy radio ads.

Sinclair used this mascot because their oil, which came from Pennsylvania, “was laid down during the Mesozoic Era when dinosaurs roamed the earth”. (fast-forward to now and well most oil comes from this but Sinclair ran with this).

Since it was so popular in the 50s, it was a perfect fit for the Wildwoods, especially for Rio Grande Ave. For those who don’t know, most places on Rio Grande Ave, such as Wawa, McDonald’s, and TD Bank, have a nod to our Doo-Wop roots with their neon signs and a mid-century look.

Sinclair is adding to that with their master plan which includes a retro sign, throwback gas pump, and a giant Dinosaur.

The master plan for the new Sinclair Gas Station called for a massive transformation of the placement of things on the property and the addition of a shopping center.

Gas pumps were moved from the middle of the block to the Western side. This move also saw the pumps rotated from its previous position and the addition of pumps from eight (8) to twelve (12).

The project was supposed to be completed by May 2021 but due to the covid-19 pandemic and the price of supplies skyrocketing, the project was placed on hold.

On January 19th, 2021, fences went up around the station and demolition was finally underway.

This week the Wildwood Video Archive stopped by the new Sinclair Gas Station for our monthly Wildwoods Construction update video. The station is almost ready to go and things are really coming together nicely.

Also See: Atlantic City’s Steel Pier To Get Two New Coasters

While there a new sign was hanging in the window of the first store of the shopping center that indicated that the Beef Jerky Experience was moving into the unit.

Let’s welcome the Beef Jerky Experience to the island!

Beef Jerky Experience is a chain that features over 100 varieties and sizes of beef jerky ranging from mild to wild. They also carry gourmet popcorn, sauces, seasonings, marinades and so much more.

It looks like they are far into the renovation of their space. Looking into the glass you can see the floors have been laid, lighting installed and products placed on the shelves.

This new location will be 4th location in Cape May Country with others being in Cape May and Ocean City.

We wish the Beef Jerky Experience the best of luck. There are still two other stores available in the Sinclair Gas Station shopping center so who knows what could be moving in?

It’s this time of year when tons of projects are taking place, one of them is taking place on the 22nd and the boardwalk. You can check out those changes in the video below.