HANCEVILLE, Ala. – In most small Southern towns, there’s a hub – a location that attracts retired farmers and their buddies for biscuits and coffee while they shoot the breeze and discuss the weather. In Hanceville, that hub is the fan-favorite Hanceville Exxon. The service station/lunch spot has been family owned for around 38 years, beginning three generations ago with matriarch Shelly Wilson. Eventually, it was passed to her son, former Hanceville High School Principal Jimmy Collins, who now shares ownership with his own son, Cole Collins.
Cole Collins is in the store almost daily to oversee operations and perform the working duties of an active owner. He has grown to know and befriend many of the regular faces who stop in for the station’s food. When this week’s freeze hit the area, those faces were missed and worried about. So, Collins created a plan and figured out a way to execute it. The station offered delivery of hot lunches to in-need Hanceville residents – facilitated by staff volunteers.
“We have probably around 30 or so men and people that we see in here daily, faces we know and recognize. They stopped coming in because they couldn’t get here and that had us start thinking about others that couldn’t get out,” said Collins. “We’ve delivered to someone that just had a baby; we have delivered to people that recently had surgery. We just want people to be able to eat.”
Eat they will/did. The offerings at the Hanceville Exxon are reminiscent of grandma’s house – home cooking and Southern favorites and staples, “a true ‘meat and three,’” according to Collins. Each day, the menu changes, based on availability and what the cook of the day decides to make. And desserts are never forgotten.
While the food is still priced, delivery is free. Most of the time, Collins said, the recipients of the deliveries are generous, and other times, it is Collins’ turn to dole out the generosity. “About half of them were given to them,” he said. “They either wanted to pay with a card, or they just needed it.”
Collins has asked if recipients are able to pay, they do so, even if payment comes at a later date. But helping the community is the first priority for him and the staff at the Hanceville Exxon.
The Hanceville Exxon is located at 206 Main St. NE and can be reached by phone at 256-352-6513.
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