Frontier Town Gateway, a service centre off a major interstate highway in New York State, is an oasis for travellers seeking a cold drink, a bite to eat and a place to stretch their legs.
In the age of electric cars, the Tesla charging stations at the service centre are another draw. These are the only charging stations on the roughly 360km (220-mile) drive between Albany and Montreal in Canada.
But what makes this restaurant and event venue in Frontier Town so special is the owner Muhammad “Mo” Ahmad, whose story is one of determination and opportunity.
Born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, Ahmad left his home country at 19 for Fiji. He studied maths and physics at the University of the South Pacific but left for the US in 2022 after meeting his first wife, who was based in New Jersey.
At 22, his first job was as a petrol station attendant in the New Jersey township of Union. For the next three years, he worked marathon 16-hour days – a double shift – daily, seven days a week. In his rare time off, he and friends would drive to Lake George, in upstate New York, for holidays in the summer.