18 Gas Station Snacks You Forgot Existed
These once-popular roadside munchies have mostly vanished from convenience store shelves.
- Chris Graciano
- 3 min read
Road trips and gas station stops used to mean grabbing unique snacks you couldn’t always find in grocery stores. Some were quirky while others were downright strange, but all had their fans. Here are 18 forgotten gas station treats that once made pit stops worth the detour.
1. Bugles Caramel Flavored
Geoff on Wikimedia Commons
The classic horn-shaped corn snack got a sweet twist. Coated in caramel, they were crunchy, buttery, and addictive. Sadly, they disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared.
2. Hershey’s Bar None
PickPik
This is a layered chocolate bar with wafers, peanuts, and fudge. It was rich, textured, and unlike anything else in the candy aisle.
3. Planters P.B. Crisps
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Peanut-shaped cookies filled with sweet peanut butter cream. They were bite-sized perfection for road trips. Fans still reminisce about them decades later.
4. Fruitopia
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This fruity drink came in colorful bottles with psychedelic labels. Its bold flavors and “cool” image made it a ’90s favorite. Gas station coolers were often stocked full.
5. Keebler Pizzarias
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Pizza-flavored chips baked from real pizza dough. They packed a bold, cheesy punch that regular chips couldn’t match. Gas stations kept them in prime snack rack territory.
6. Kudos Granola Bars
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More candy bar than granola, these chocolate-covered treats were marketed as “healthy.” Gas stations sold them right next to candy for good reason.
7. Reggie! Bar
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This was a round chocolate treat filled with peanuts and caramel, named after baseball star Reggie Jackson. It was part candy, part sports memorabilia.
8. Hostess Chocodiles
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Chocolate-covered Twinkies that somehow tasted richer than either dessert alone. They were a rare sight in stores, but gas stations often had them.
9. Doritos Salsa Verde (Original Recipe)
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This had a tangy, slightly spicy chip flavor that hardcore fans swore by. Gas stations carried them long after some grocery stores stopped.
10. Snapple Elements
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This was a futuristic line of drinks named after Earth, rain, fire, and more. The unique bottles and flavors made them stand out in the cooler.
11. Munch ’ems
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These were baked snack crackers with bold seasoning in every bite. They were lighter than chips but packed more crunch — the kind of thing you’d grab for long drives.
12. Fruit String Thing
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These were tangy, sweet fruit snacks rolled into string art shapes. Half the fun was playing with it before eating. Gas stations stocked them alongside candy for impulse buys.
13. Jolt Cola
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This had twice the caffeine of regular soda and a cult following among drivers. It was the original “energy drink” before the trend took off.
14. Grandma’s Big Cookie
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These oversized, soft-baked cookies had flavors like peanut butter and chocolate chip. They were cheap, filling, and perfect for sharing, or not. Gas stations almost always had them by the coffee station.
15. Ritz Bits S’mores
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These mini sandwiches had chocolate and marshmallow filling between graham-flavored crackers. They were sweet, portable, and made for road trip snacking.
16. Surge Soda
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This neon-green citrus soda was marketed as extreme energy in a bottle. Gas stations became its stronghold even after it left major supermarkets.
17. Combos Sweet & Salty
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Known for their pretzel and cheese varieties, Combos once experimented with dessert flavors. Chocolate-filled versions were a quirky, limited-time find.
18. Blueberry Faygo
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Part of Faygo’s wide flavor lineup, blueberry was a hidden gem. It had a candy-like sweetness perfect for summer drives. Small-town gas stations kept it alive longer than most stores.