Jerry Herbst, philanthropist and founder of the convenience store chain that bears his name, has died at age 80.
Herbst, who in 1959 founded Terrible Herbst Inc., a business empire with more than 160 convenience stores, car washes and oil-change locations throughout Southern Nevada, died peacefully today at his home, the company said in a statement.
This summer, Terrible’s Road House, a mega-gas station and convenience store with 96 pumps and 50,000 square feet of shopping space, opened just south of Las Vegas. It was “a capstone to Jerry’s remarkable career building a company that has become an integral part of the Southern Nevada community,” the company statement said.
An avid race fan and leader of Herbst Motorsports, Herbst was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.
Herbst’s nickname of “the best bad guy of the West” is represented by the caricature logo of his businesses — a gas-slinging character with a mustache and a cowboy hat.
Herbst loved his country and displayed his patriotism at his stores with oversized American flags, which will be at half-staff in his honor, the company said.