Terrible Herbst, or Terrible Herbst Oil Company, is an American privately held gas station company based in Paradise, Nevada, United States.
The company operates gas stations in Nevada, California, Utah and Arizona.
History
The company's roots go back to a single Chicago, Illinois, gas station in 1938.[1] The owner of Martin Oil, Edward R. Herbst, was credited with becoming "the P.T. Barnum of gasoline" by engaging in unusual marketing strategies, undercutting the competition with low prices, and pioneering the convenience store model.[2] According to his son, Jerry, each time the elder Herbst would open a new gas station, competitors would bemoan the move: "Here comes that terrible Herbst", inspiring the chain's nickname.[3] Alternatively, the name is traced to a specific incident that occurred in the late 1940s as Herbst was moving to the western United States; when applying for a business license in Cheyenne, Wyoming