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By Ann E. Laforge
See the article in its original context from
January 10, 1988
,
Section 3, Page
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WHEN Larry Puckridge began driving a rig in 1973, ''dirty old truck stops that sold greasy food and fuel'' gave him little incentive to stop while he crisscrossed the country, he said.
Now, when he navigates I-40 from North Carolina to the West Coast, he knows half a dozen truck stops where he can find provisions and amenities that were quite rare just a few years ago: He can can get a fresh salad and broiled - not fried - chicken; shop for clothes, gifts, or truck supplies, and pay for purchases with a major credit card. If he's heading northeast with time to spare, there's even a place to stop for a workout, a game of pool or a whirlpool bath.
Trucks stops with fresh parsley and exercise rooms? It hardly fits the image of the mom-and-pop service stations and the no-frills truck stops that have been fixtures on the American highway since the 1920's. But in the last several years, the industry has so transformed itself that many of the state-of-art facilities do not even bill themselves as truck stops anymore: Sitting on 10 to 30 acres of land, they call themselves travel plazas, traveler's stops, stopping centers and auto/truckstops. Whatever the terminology, they have proved to be good business.
The changes go far beyond the names. Menus in truck stops' full-service restaurants offer fresh vegetables, fish and pasta at prices that compare to those at fast-food or family restaurant chains. There are also elaborate credit systems, 24-hour service, huge parking lots and clean rest rooms. The truck stops are much bigger than their ancestors, pumping anywhere from 750,000 to over a million gallons of diesel a month, raking in $2 million to $15 million a year, and employing an average of 100 people. Some are trying to draw motorists and local residents.
PERHAPS the most important change is that big chains - Unocal, Flying J, Truckstops Corporation of America, Petro Inc. and Pilot Oil - are investing heavily in truck stops, convinced that interstate highways are a major untapped market. ''The future of truck stops lies in big chains,'' said Forrest Baker, president of Transportation Research and Marketing, an Idaho-based market research company.
Many are following the business strategy of fast-food operators: Make one outlet resemble the others so the customer will never be surprised.
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