The Oklahoma City-based Love’s Travel Stops company announced this week it intends to open more than 40 new stores this year.
The first to be opened is in Alma, Arkansas located at 8060 State Route 282 which is at exit 24 of Interstate 49. It is the company’s third location along the 500-mile stretch of Interstate 49.
“We’re committed to growing in areas of need. Interstate 49 between Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Fort Smith, Arkansas, is a heavily traveled freight route with limited services for professional drivers,” said Greg Love, co-CEO of Love’s. “We look forward to serving a rapidly growing area in northwest Arkansas.”
The new Love’s is open 24/7 and offers a Love’s Truck Tire Care center, 55 truck parking spaces, three showers and other driver services. It also offers Chester’s Chicken and Subway restaurants, laundry capabilities, gourmet coffee, fountain drinks, gift items, name-brand snacks and more. With the addition of the Alma store, Love’s now operates 12 travel stops in Arkansas. Love’s also operates two Speedco locations in the state in North Little Rock and West Memphis.
In celebration of the new store, Love’s will hold a ribbon cutting in conjunction with the Alma Chamber of Commerce at 10 a.m. Wednesday, January 31. During the ceremony, Love’s will present a $2,000 donation to Stepping Stone, an organization providing services to people with developmental disabilities and their families.
Love’s Travel Stops (Love’s) is continuing its expansion momentum this year after opening 147 new stores over the past five years, including 36 new locations in 2017. Another year of rapid growth is ahead for Love’s in 2018, which represents Love’s commitment as the nation’s industry-leading travel stop network to provide convenient, reliable, and high-quality services to Customers.
This year Love’s plans to open more than 40 new locations, add thousands of new truck parking spaces, expand on-site truck and tire care services, and bring three additional hotels to Love’s Hospitality to give professional drivers more options, convenience and flexibility on the road. All of these 2018 initiatives are fueled by the demands professional drivers are asking for.
“We diligently listen to our Customers’ needs and are dedicated to meeting them and improving professional drivers’ quality of life,” said Frank Love, co-CEO of Love’s. “We’re doing our part to address the truck parking shortage by adding more than 3,100 parking spaces at newly built travel stops. Our Customers will also have increased access to reliable maintenance services because we are adding light mechanical offerings to select Speedco locations to help them get back on the road faster.”
Love’s acquired Speedco in 2017. All 52 locations continue to offer the same Speedco services and tire brands that Customers are used to, and the addition of light mechanical services is planned for this year.
In 2018, Love’s will also reduce Customer wait times by adding automated showers at nearly all Love’s Travel Stop locations, create 42 more public laundry service locations, and bring 2,500 new jobs to communities. In addition, Trillium will broaden its offerings this year to include electric vehicle charging stations, solar panel installation and hydrogen fueling, as well as additional compressed natural gas (CNG) locations.