Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Mackeyburger Finds New Home

It is the home of the Mackeyburger and the Pickleburger, fresh pastries baked daily, farm raised catfish filets and southern fried chicken. Oh, yeah, and gasoline.

There are booths where weary travelers may sit and enjoy a big breakfast just like mom used to make. Or they may choose to get something from the grill, which is open 24 hours a day.

It is a brand new building with the same old philosophy: Service with a smile. It is the new Dillard's Shell Super Stop, and it is now open for business.

The owners of the new Shell store, Mackey and James Dillard, will be celebrating the grand opening of their new store on Thursday and Friday, August 8 and 9. "We've been open since mid-June," Mackey Dillard said.

Coulson Oil, the distributor and jobber for Shell, controls all the Shell stores in Arkansaa. "They help us out on what to buy and how to maintain our store," Mackey Dillard said.

The old station was torn down in March. Construction then began on the new store, and the first day open for the Dillard's was June 13. "Most of us pulled an all-nighter, since we didn't have our staff yet," James Dillard said.

There is a variety of foods from the deli to choose from. "Any kind of sandwich you want we can fix," said Dawn Dillard, who oversees the buying and maintenance of the food. They also have a grill, which stays busy with to-go orders as well as sit-down meals. Fried chicken and catfish, corn dogs, hushpuppies, tater-babies and tater logs, as well as fried livers and gizzards and many other foods can all be bought on the spot. Breakfast can be cooked any way and time of the day.

Although the new store may have a more modern look from the Dillard's Station of yesteryears, many things are still the same. The two brothers still run the business, along with their wives and children. They still sit and visit with the troopers and other patrons who stop by. "We still have our 24 hour wrecker service too," James Dillard added.

If it's a full tank of gas and a cheeseburger with fries to go, or a cup of coffee and a bit of conversation, the Dillard's still provide service with a smile.