St. Augustine-West was set to open in early 1969. With its Gate Lodge and Restaurant, it was a classically configured complex that included an adjacent Texaco service station. 

 Like Holiday Inn and its arrangement with the Gulf Oil Corporation, Howard Johnson's aligned itself with Texaco. In both cases the lodging concerns built the service stations that were adjacent to the Inns and Lodges. There were mutual benefits, and patrons could use their oil company credit cards for lodging and sometimes meals. At the time, it was very innovative! While all of the brand names still exist, Holiday Inn, Howard Johnson, Gulf, and Texaco are now all quite different entities.