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His gas station speakeasy brought in about $5 million in one year: Behind the hidden door, it's still the 'roaring twenties'

Cnbc · · 1201 words · By Sophie Caldwell
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What to know about His gas station speakeasy brought in about $5 million in one year: Behind the hidden door, it's still the 'roaring twenties'

Tony Donatell has a knack for spotting business opportunities that others might overlook.

Claims checked 16
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Tony Donatell has a knack for spotting business opportunities that others might overlook.

Why it matters

Over the past two years, he's transformed an empty storefront next to an Amoco gas station convenience store in Lakeville, Minnesota into The Farmer's Cellar, an upscale restaurant and cocktail bar with a speakeasy twist.

Common ground

Donatell, 46, is the owner and founder of the Wondrous Collective, a restaurant group that owns 12 businesses, including The Farmer's Cellar, in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/19/this-gas-station-speakeasy-brought-in-almost-5-m…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 6
info Single Source 5
check_circle Corroborated 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
schedule
Claim 1: “Total expenses for the average restaurant... have risen 36% between 2019 and 2026, according to estimates from the National Restaurant Association”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 2: “the business — which includes the speakeasy, the convenience store and the gas station itself — brought in almost $5 million in revenue in its first year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result explicitly mentions the business (speakeasy, convenience store, and gas station) brought in almost $5 million in revenue in one year. Other results for this claim are irrelevant.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — It was first released in early access for Windows in May 2022 before officially releasing two years later, with a PlayStation 5 version under development.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHtKC1XJ7wc
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — All chapters are in Healing at the Academy Convenience Store.Store Chapter 11 manga scan, August 25, 2026, numa2026.
https://rosyscans.id/healing-at-the-academy-convenience-stor…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The gas station as we know it is an endangered species. As electric vehicles gradually make up a larger share of cars on the road, entirely new kinds of service stations will be needed to fuel their j…
https://www.fastcompany.com/90717432/the-gas-station-of-the-…
info
Claim 3: “He purchased his first gas station and convenience store 17 years ago in Eagan, Minnesota.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists entirely of irrelevant information about GitHub and Microsoft.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Desde enero de 2010, GitHub opera bajo el nombre de GitHub, Inc. Anteriormente era conocida como Logical Awesome LLC. El código de los proyectos alojados en GitHub se almacena generalmente de forma pú…
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/GitHub
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — GitHub, headquartered in San Francisco, is operated by Github, Inc., a subsidiary of Microsoft since 2018. [10] It is commonly used to host open source software development projects. [11]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GitHub
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — GitHub is where people build software. More than 150 million people use GitHub to discover, fork, and contribute to over 420 million projects.
https://github.com/login
check_circle
Claim 4: “Tony Donatell... transformed an empty storefront next to an Amoco gas station convenience store in Lakeville, Minnesota into The Farmer's Cellar, an upscale restaurant and cocktail bar with a speakeasy twist.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm Tony Donatell took over a gas station in Lakeville and opened 'The Farmer's Cellar', a hidden bar/restaurant with a speakeasy twist.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Restaurateur Tony Donatell took over the struggling gas station in 2024.The Farmer’s Cellar works because it leans into a specific, coherent theme rather than trying to be everything to everyone. Diff…
https://www.success.com/business-differentiation-strategy
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — It’s called the Farmer’s Cellar. Leaders from the c-store were featured in a NACS Ideas 2 Go video at the NACS Show in Chicago. While the hidden cocktail bar adds an unexpected twist, the store doesn’…
https://www.cspdailynews.com/minnesota-c-store-delivers-burg…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Since Donatell opened a hidden bar in the space in May 2025 called The Farmer's Cellar, the business — which includes the speakeasy, the convenience store and the gas station itself — has brought in a…
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/08/19/hidden-bar-in-gas-stat…
schedule
Claim 5: “The convenience store brought in about $1.4 million in revenue and the gas station brought in almost $1.9 million in revenue during the same period.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 6: “The Farmer's Cellar brought in just over $1.7 million in revenue from its opening in May 2025 through April, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 7: “The organization's research found that restaurant menu prices have also increased by 3.4% between July 2025 and July 2026.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “Donatell... estimates that approximately 70% of their sales come from beverages, including beer, wine, soda and liquor.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 9: “The Farmer's Cellar has a hidden entrance: a faux soda cooler inside the gas station convenience store, which Donatell renamed The Farmer's Grandson.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 10: “For 61% of Americans, eating out feels like more of a "special treat" than a regular occurrence, according to a November report from OpenTable”
SINGLE SOURCE
One source (TableMesh) specifically cites an OpenTable research point that 61% of Americans say dining out feels more like a special occasion. Other OpenTable results discuss 2026 trends generally but don't repeat this specific statistic.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dining out isn't just about the meal, it's about community, and that remains core to American life." How America Will Dine in 2026. Spanning consumer and restaurant research, and OpenTable data, here'…
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/opentable-reveals-top-tren…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — OpenTable 2026 Dining Trends Report just dropped and the headline is unmistakable: Dining isn’t just back. It’s growing faster and evolving further than ever before.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ericchung3_2026-dining-trends…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dining Out Has Become an Occasion Worth Planning For. Here’s a data point that reframes how people think about restaurants in 2026: 61% of Americans say dining out now feels more like a special occasi…
https://www.tablemesh.com/blog/group-dining-surge-2026-eat-t…
check_circle
Claim 11: “Thirty-seven percent of American diners were eating out less often than they had a year earlier, partially due to cost, a YouGov report from October 2025 found.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (YouGov reports cited in different articles) confirm that 37% of American diners were eating out less frequently due to costs.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elections are scheduled to be held, in large part, on November 3, 2026, in the United States. In these midterm elections, scheduled to occur during Republican president Donald Trump's second term, all…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_elections
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — YouGov plc is an international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia–Pacific.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouGov
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of opinion polls taken on the presidency of Joe Biden in 2024 and the first twenty days of January 2025. To navigate between years, see opinion polling on the Biden administration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–2025_opinion_polling_on_t…
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 12: “Donatell later expanded the Eagan property to include a burger joint, Burgers and Bottles, and a speakeasy called Volstead House.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for Burgers and Bottles or Volstead House in relation to Donatell.
verified
Claim 13: “The consumer price index for eating out has increased by 3.4% year-over-year as of July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant results about the Tennessee Theatre and general Wikipedia entries about the BLS, but no specific data point regarding a 3.4% increase in the CPI for eating out as of July.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and stati…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Labor_Statistics
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Erika Lee McEntarfer (born January 1973) is an American labor economist who served as the commissioner of labor statistics from 2024 to 2025. McEntarfer graduated from Bard College with a bachelor's d…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_McEntarfer
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The nature and power of organized labor in the United States is the outcome of historical tensions among counter-acting forces involving workplace rights, wages, working hours, political expression, l…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_history_of_the_United_St…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 14: “Donatell opened The Farmer's Cellar in May 2025”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result explicitly states Donatell opened the hidden bar called The Farmer's Cellar in May 2025. Other provided evidence for this claim (Wikipedia/Yandex) is irrelevant noise.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A root cellar (American and Canadian English), fruit cellar (Mid-Western American English) or earth cellar (British English) is a structure, usually underground or partially underground, used for stor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_cellar
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — "The Wolf and the Fox" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. The story involves a greedy, gluttonous wolf living with a fox. The wolf makes the fox do all his work and threatens to …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_and_the_Fox
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Cottage is a 2008 British black comedy horror film, written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cottage_(film)
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 15: “he rented both properties in November 2024.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching regarding the rental date of the properties in November 2024.
info
Claim 16: “Donatell, 46, is the owner and founder of the Wondrous Collective, a restaurant group that owns 12 businesses, including The Farmer's Cellar, in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While web results confirm Donatell is associated with 'Wondrous Collective' and 'Eyes Wide Hospitality', the specific age (46) and the exact number of businesses (12) are not corroborated across multiple independent sources. One source mentions 15 brand concepts.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Expanding Beyond Apple Valley. The Wondrous Collective’s vision extends beyond Revolve Hall. The group recently acquired the Amoco gas station, currently called The Outpost in southern Lakeville, and …
https://www.limitless-news.com/local/revolvehallapplevalley
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Wondrous Collective is comprised of 15 brand concepts with seven different locations across the south metro. Donatell said the group plans to continue to grow.
https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_thisweek/community/apple_…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Tony Donatell. Owner. Eyes Wide Hospitality. Categories. Emerging. Year.But he’s not coming past 494/694. Look for the Farmer and the Fishmonger in a reimagined Ruby Tuesday’s in Apple Valley next.
https://tcbmag.com/tcb-100-people/tony-donatell/
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.