‘Just trying to safeguard what we have left.’: owner reflects after landslide hits gas station

PITTSBURGH — Last Friday’s heavy rains caused problems for many people, but in particular at Marshall’s Gas Station in Spring Garden.  A landslide caved in the kitchen at the gas station. Owner Robert Spehar says his wife and son were lucky to get out.

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”She heard a rumble and all of a sudden, a big thud. It was all the mud coming down off the hillside, it pushed the back wall in. She got out of the building and my son got out of the building just in time.

”While Spehar is grateful no one was hurt, the damage is devastating. The landslide destroyed the kitchen and all the equipment is just about worthless, he says.

The gas station has been a staple in Spring Garden, in business and in his family for the last 47 years. Spehar said, “We struggled for a few years and finally got it up and running. The way it’s turning around, and now this happens.

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”He told us a city contractor and a soil engineer were expected to show up today to survey the damage and give a report to the city about the condition of the hillside.

The power is also still out, so Spehar and his son have been camping out in front of the store overnight. They hope to be able to reopen in the next few months.

”Right now we’re just trying to safeguard what we have left.”

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