As students rushed to finish their finals last semester, Long Wong’s sat empty across the street from Rincon Market. Its vacant interior and unadorned front invited puzzled glances from passersby.

Jim Counts and Jay Tolkoff, however, saw an opportunity.

Counts, managing partner for Nimbus Brewing Company, and Tolkoff, owner of PJ Subs, are co-owners of the T6 Filling Station, a new restaurant and bar settling into Long Wong’s former home at 2500 E. 6th St.

Irony is a driving idea behind the new place, Counts said.

T6 Filling Station – T6 being shorthand for Tucson Boulevard and Sixth Street – is housed in a building that used to be a filling, or gas, station in the 1940s, Counts said. Classic logos and signs from different filling station companies of that era cover the walls of the current dining area while two newly restored gas pumps, manual fuel cranks and all, tower out front.

Counts said he and Tolkoff wanted to keep the building’s look in order to honor its history and maintain a consistent appearance with the Sam Hughes neighborhood.

Despite the focus on cars, petroleum products and gas stations, the two partners wanted to make T6 a neighborhood place with an environmentally conscious approach and to address the problem of limited parking.

Counts said they plan to give discounts to anyone who travels to the restaurant without driving a car, whether it is by bus, on foot or by bike.

They are working with a designer, he added, from the local nonprofit organization BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Action & Salvage) to create bike racks from recycled parts for customers who cycle to the restaurant.

Counts also said that there are plans to include shuttle service, but nothing has been finalized yet.

Tolkoff recounted how his eventual partnership began with Counts a few years ago.

“”One night after an event at the brewery, I took (Counts) over to my place and made him a couple sandwiches. And he thought they were good!”” Tolkoff said.

Since then, the two have been looking for an opportunity to work together; they found it in the T6 Filling Station.

The restaurant, which will include a restored 1950s bar, is still in the process of establishing itself in the neighborhood. It is temporarily offering food based on PJ Subs’ menu.

What can customers expect once T6 has found its feet?

“”We’re taking the best of what Nimbus Brewing Company does and taking the best of what PJ Subs does … and putting them together in one menu,”” Count said.

“”Good food, good beer. End of story,”” Tolkoff said.