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WWW.NATSO.COM JULY/AUGUST 2015 THE MEMBER MAGAZINE OF NATSO, REPRESENTING THE TRUCKSTOP AND TRAVEL PLAZA INDUSTRY POLITICS AND PIE AT NATSO'S DAY ON CAPITOL HILL 2015 The Truckstop of the Future Truckstop and Travel Plaza Operators Find Ways to Boost Food Service Five Factors Affecting the Future of Freight Movement THE TRENDS ISSUE

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  • WWW.NATSO.COM JULY/AUGUST 201 5

    THE MEMBER MAGAZINE OF NATSO, REPRESENTING THE TRUCKSTOP AND TRAVEL PLAZA INDUSTRY

    POLITICS AND PIEAT NATSO'S DAY ON CAPITOL HILL 2015

    The Truckstop of the Future

    Truckstop and Travel Plaza Operators Find Ways to

    Boost Food Service

    Five Factors Affecting the Future of Freight Movement

    THE

    TRENDS ISSUE

  • Navigating the NormsB eing a successful business owner typically means operating within a certain set of norms. That certainly seems easy enough, but the challenge is that norms and the trends they are linked with can be ambiguous.

    On the surface, the definition seems quite simple. Psychologist Francesca Canian said, Norms are interpreted as shared conceptions about what identi-ties or roles exist and what actions and attributes define a person as a member in good standing with a particular rank.

    Norms are ubiquitous in life. Every time we enter a room, open our mouths to speak, walk down the street or conduct a meeting, norms are in play. Without norms, it is doubtful that there could be such a thing as a free market economy or democratic politics or indeed society as we know it.

    For business owners, evaluating the norms can be complex. We find our-selves not only asking what the norms and meaningful trends are, but also how theyre measured and how long must they be measured to be meaning-ful. Norms span all aspects of our op-erations. What are normalized interest rates? What are normalized margins? What are normalized sales?

    However, norms can be mysterious beasts. David Nelson, a director of several industry study groups, said, I think of normalize as reverting to the mean. He added that normal weather would be average weather for the time of year it is being reported on while the normal or natural rate of unemploy-ment is the long-term average rate of unemployment, which averages 5 to 6 percent in the U.S.

    Nelson said normal interest rates would be something like the rate of in-flation (or anticipated inflation) + the real rate of interest, which is around 3 percent for low risk. Crude prices are trickier but looking at the inflation-adjusted real price over time would give some idea of whether the real price of oil is higher or lower relative to historical norms. [See chart above].

    New norms emerge when fundamen-tal circumstances are permanently, as opposed to temporarily, altered. Its of-ten argued that all trends revert back to a norm, and staying current on trends and peeling back the layers involved in

    TOM HEINZ CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

    EXAMINING HISTORICAL DATA on crude prices reveals that real oil prices are presently low if we look at the last few years but not if we look at a longer-term horizon.

    STRATEGICALLY, THE TRENDS AND NORMS THAT DRIVE OUR DECISION MAKING AT COFFEE CUP FUEL STOPS ARE THE INTEREST RATE ON THE TEN-YEAR U.S. TREASURY AND TEN-YEAR GERMAN AND JAPANESE BONDS; THE VALUE OF THE DOLLAR VERSUS THE EURO; LOCAL, NATIONAL AND GLOBAL GOVERNMENT POLICIES; TECHNOLOGY TRENDS APPLICABLE TO OUR BUSINESS; AND CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS, WHICH ARE ALL FUTURE DEMAND INDICATORS.

    CHAIRMANS LETTER

    www.natso.com 3

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    them is crucial to meeting our cus-tomers needs.

    When examining what might be a new norm, I often think of a quote from Benjamin Disraeli (18041881): There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics, he said.

    Ultimately, norms are guidelines or expectations that are constantly changing, so we must be vigilant in asking three questions: Is this a new

    norm? Who declared this a norm? What normalization methodology was used?

    Best regards,

    Tom Heinz Coffee Cup Fuel Stops & Conve-nience Stores, Inc.NATSO 2015 Chairman

    Norms are interpreted as shared conceptions about what identities or roles exist and what actions and attributes define a person as a member in good standing with a particular rank. Psychologist Francesca Canian

  • THE MEMBER MAGAZINE OF NATSO, REPRESENTING THE TRUCKSTOP AND TRAVEL PLAZA INDUSTRY

    WWW.NATSO.COM JULY/AUGUST 2015

    Chairman Tom Heinz

    President & CEO Lisa J. Mullings

    Editor Amy Toner

    Associate Editor Mindy Long

    Stop Watch is published bimonthly by the NATSO Foundation, 1330 Braddock Place, Suite 501, Alexandria, VA 22314

    Copyright 2015 by the NATSO Foundation. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without written permission of the publisher. All editorial materials are acceptable and published by Stop Watch on the representation that the supplier is authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter. Such entities and/or their agents will defend, indemnify and hold harmless Stop Watch and the NATSO Foundation from and against any loss, expense or other liability resulting from claims or suits for libel, violation of privacy, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or suits resulting from the editorial materials. Periodicals postage 024-723 paid at Alexandria, VA and other mailing offices.

    POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Stop Watch, 1330 Braddock Place, Suite 501, Alexandria, VA 22314

    08THE TRUCKSTOP OF THE FUTURE

    11DAY ON CAPITOL HILL

    12 TRUCKSTOP AND TRAVEL PLAZA OPERATORS FIND WAYS TO BOOST FOOD SERVICE

    16 NATSO CHAIRMAN'S CIRCLE MEMBERS

    18 FIVE FACTORS AFFECTING THE FUTURE OF FREIGHT MOVEMENT

    22 WRITTEN PLANS HELP TRUCKSTOP AND TRAVEL PLAZA OPERATORS PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE

    FEATURES

    03Chairman's Letter NAVIGATING THE NORMS

    06Great Ideas! THREE FOOD TRENDS THAT BOOST SALES

    CHOICE IS KEY

    20Foundation Update CUSTOMIZATION + VARIETY = THE FUTURE OF BEVERAGE SALES

    25Member Profile COOKIES AND RICE CRISPIES AT PINE CONE TRAVEL PLAZA

    26Great Ideas in Action DONNAS TRAVEL CENTER

    DEPARTMENTS

    We Want to Hear From You! Do you have comments, ideas or suggestions? Dont hesitate to contact us.

    The NATSO Foundation1330 Braddock Place, Suite 501, Alexandria, VA 22314Email: [email protected] / Phone: (703) 549-2100

    http://www.facebook.com/NATSOInc / www.natso.com

    THE

    TRENDS ISSUE

    11 Politics and Pie at NATSO's Day on Capitol Hill 2015

    COVER STORY

  • DARRENS GREAT Darren Schulte, NATSOs vice president of membership and a retail expert, writes a biweekly retail column on NATSOs blog. We feature the best here in Stop Watch magazine. Join Schulte on NATSOs website at www.natso.com/great-ideas to read his digestible retail tips every other Thursday.

    THREE FOOD TRENDS THAT BOOST SALES

    Food service remains one of the few mega growth categories left in our in-dustry. Although some locations con-tinue to see dine-in growth, overall grab-n-go offerings are hot and know-ing which products to offer when can help spur sales. Locations can select and refine their offerings based on their key customer demographic and indus-try trends. Consider these three current trends to help boost food sales.

    OFFER ETHNIC FOODSNot only are ethnic foods a way for operators to appeal to certain demo-graphics, but they can also appeal to consumers across the board. For ex-ample, Hispanic offerings such as bur-ritos, tamales and tostadas have wide appeal. Japanese soy beans or eda-mame have become staples in many non-Asian food establishments and stores. To help gauge what to offer,

    operators can look at their over-the-road owner-operator demographics. If you see a growing trend, take some time out to speak to the over-the-road drivers about what they are searching for in food offerings then turn around and SPEAK to them with your food product offerings.

    PROVIDE HEALTHY CHOICESTodays consumers are asking for healthier options, and operators are responding by offering fresh foods in their hotboxes and deli reach-in cool-ers. Yogurts, fresh fruit, vegetables and cheeses are prime examples. To maximize this category, operators can also strategically place healthy fare around their deli, coffee and fountain drink areas in addition to the transaction counter. Making a state-ment that youre in the healthy choice business is essential. However just

    placing a basket of fruit on the coun-ter, while it is a start, is not being in the business.

    CONSIDER CONSUMERS RENEWED INTEREST IN FRIED FOODSWhile fresh food is all of the rage, fried foods remain a menu staple and recent studies continue to show an increase in the fried foods consum-ers are eating. Consumers may say they want healthy and organic foods, but a Technomic report found that 91 percent of consumers said they eat a burger at least once a month and 44 percent have a burger at least once a week. In addition to burgers, brats and sausages continue to drive sales among core convenience store cus-tomers. Locations may also want to consider adding items such as turkey wings, gizzards and egg rolls to their offerings.

    6 July/August 2015

  • HAVE A RETAIL MERCHANDISING, MARKETING OR OPERATIONS QUESTION? Reach out to Schulte at [email protected] or (703) 739-8562 and hell answer your question in the next Darrens Great Ideas! for Independent Operators.

    CHOICE IS KEY

    At the DAS Travel Show this spring, I shared more than 60 great ideas Ive seen in the over 300 independent truckstops Ive visited in the last five years. I shared pictures and stories of what operators are doing to set them-selves apart from their competition.

    One topic that ran through the pre-sentation was food service. Ive writ-ten about it many times, but it bears repeatingfood service is becoming a more and more important component of the sales picture at truckstops and travel plazas. Todays customers are demanding greater quality and con-venience in the food they purchase, and smart operators are capitalizing on this demand.

    Here are just a few of the great ideas in food service Ive seen recently.

    MAPCO EXPRESS, BRENTWOOD, TENNESSEEIm seeing more and more truckstops capitalize on the craft beer trend [see more on page 20]. Mapco Express for example has a growler program. Growl-ers are large re-sealable, reusable beer bottlesusually somewhere around a half-gallon to gallonthat you can fill with whatever style of beer available at the "filling station." The jugs are remi-niscent of old whisky jugs. At this loca-tion, the customers have six choices of craft styles of draft beer. They can bring in their own jugs or purchase one at the location. This Mapco Express has a lot of locals, so the growlers program re-ally works for them.

    INTERNATIONAL STUDY TOUR, NORWAYFresh food especially is on trend right now, but it doesnt have to be 100

    percent fresh. At one retailer that we visited in Norway during the Interna-tional Study Tour, the location takes premade sandwiches and adds freshly sliced tomatoes. They sell it for twice as much as premade sandwich. Take note: Open the box, undo the wrapper and add something fresh. Read more about www.natso.com/internationalfreshfood.

    NOCO EXPRESS, TONAWANDA, NEW YORKI dont always encourage truckstops to add fresh grocery items, but I do if they have the right customers. NOCO Express, for example, has a lot of Hispanic customers who like the fresh lettuce, tomatoes, etc. They have seen great sales with this fresh produce display.

    Download the slides and see more ideas at www.natso.com/foodideas.

    www.natso.com 7

  • BY MINDY LONG

    To stay relevant, businesses

    have to change as their

    customers change. New

    innovations can drive sales

    and create convenience, and

    the truckstops and travel

    plazas of the future will

    embrace improvements that

    will enhance the customers

    experience. Some early

    adopters are all ready

    rolling out technology

    and new designs that may

    eventually become the norm.

    TRUCKSTOP

    FUTURE

    DRIVERS STAYING IN THE CABAs technology has improved, drivers have been able to take care of more and more business from the cab. Drivers no longer have to leave the truck to make phone calls, watch television or send a fax. In the future, drivers may have even fewer reasons to leave the truck, which means truckstops and travel plaza operators will have to continue to find ways to compel drivers to come inside.

    of the

    GAS

    PURCHASING AT THE PUMPTime is becoming a more important factor for professional and four-wheel drivers alike. To help speed them on their way, a number of companies are developing technology that will allow customers to purchase food at the pump.

    Vendgogh has developed a vending machine that integrates with a stores point-of-sale system. Customers can pay for beverages at the same time they pay for fuel at the pump and pick them up from a vending machine adjacent to the pump. The machines are already in use at some Kangaroo Xpress, Murphy USA and Wilsons Gas Stops locations.

    Darren Schulte, vice president of membership for NATSO, said, I think even-tually youll see some type of a bell hop situation where the driver can order his food right at the pump and the food will be brought out to him. We are already seeing Wawa and Sheetz doing it for cars.

    If youre a truckstop today and you have people on the islands already, how hard would it be to turn that person into an order taker? You now have a way to give a driver something to eat. Trucks dont have a drive through, Schulte said.

    INCREASED FOOD SALESFood service sales, particularly of grab-and-go items, are becoming a larger part of a locations overall revenue. Learn more on page 12.

    8 July/August 20158 July/August 2015

  • LARGER BEVERAGE SELECTIONThe drinks drivers are purchasing at truckstops and travel plazas has grown be-yond a traditional cup-of-joe or a soda. Today, sales of energy drinks, teas and custom coffees have exploded and those within the industry said beverage choices are going to continue to improve. Learn more on page 20.

    DRIVE-THROUGH LANESAs customers look for even greater convenience, the number of drive-through locations at truckstops and travel plazas is likely to increase. NATSO mem-ber Jack Grewal, president of Grewal Brothers Corp., recently opened a drive through for four-wheel customers at the companys location in Pauld-ing, Ohio. Since it opened, a steady stream of customers has been coming through, Grewal said.

    Customers can purchase anything at the drive through that is for sale in the store, be it a gallon of milk or a case of beer. Beer and pop are the most popular, but our overall sales are doing pretty good, especially in the winter time because people dont want to get out of their cars, Grewal said, adding that the drive through has one dedicated employee.

    GAS

    FOOD

    DRIVE-THROUGH SCALESThe Weigh My Truck app from CAT Scale Co., based in Walcott, Iowa, lets drivers visit a scale, weigh and receive their information without ever having to open their door, roll down their window or get out of the truck. Drivers receive a copy of their ticket via email or access it online for six months. Driv-ers can also set their preferences, so a weight ticket is automatically sent to someone at their company.

    A GROWING NUMBER

    OF OPERATORS ARE

    TURNING TO REAL-

    TIME INFORMATION TO

    HELP THEM IMPROVE

    THEIR PRODUCT MIX

    AND THEIR OVERALL

    ATMOSPHERE.

    www.natso.com 9 www.natso.com 9

  • CUSTOMER INTERACTION VIA AN APPMore and more customers are using smart phones, and businesses are finding ways to use apps to improve their customers shopping experience. WaWa recently launched its mobile app. Custom-ers can use the app to make mobile payments or pay with a Wawa gift card. They can also find a local Wawa, check fuel prices, view nutrition in-formation and track their loyalty points.

    EASY TO NAVIGATE LAYOUTSTo draw customers in from the pump, locations have to be clean, safe and wel-coming. Once customers are through the door, it is important that they can find what they want quickly and easily. Chuck White, vice president of brands and marketing for DAS, said the aver-age c-store customer spends 140 sec-onds shopping. Retailers must make it easier for customers to find their way, and more intuitively place the right products in the right place along the consumers' path-to-purchase, White said. It is clean sightlines and aisles and the use of way-finding signagewhether it is color coded or is the same shape with the same boxthat allows people to use their senses to get to the right place faster. The drugstore CVS has a color-coded way finding system. It is adapting benchmarks across our shopping life and bringing them into a travel center.

    REAL-TIME FEEDBACKA growing number of operators are turning to real-time information to help them improve their product mix and their overall atmosphere.

    To ensure their restrooms are always in order, Coffee Cup Fuel Stops is roll-ing out surveys via iPads placed near the restrooms so customers can rate the restrooms and alert managers if a restroom needs service.

    Gilbarco Veeder-Root has created a survey at the pump that allows business owners to learn more about their customers through the Applause TV with VNET system. Greg Erwin, vice president of Erwin Oil, recently tested the systems and used the surveys to ask customers about everything from their fa-vorite coffee flavor to their favorite NCAA team. In return, customers received coupons. By targeting Millennials with this feature, we were able to grow sales on targeted products, he said.

    WELCOME

    ONCE CUSTOMERS ARE

    THROUGH THE DOOR,

    IT IS IMPORTANT THAT

    THEY CAN FIND WHAT

    THEY WANT QUICKLY

    AND EASILY."

    10 July/August 201510 July/August 2015

  • NATSO members made their annual pilgrimage to Capitol Hill May 1113, meeting with Senators and Members of Congress to voice how vitally important the truckstop and travel plaza industry is to the national economy and how Congressional votes affect its ability to thrive.

    Nearly 50 NATSO members met with their elected officials to discuss such critically important issues as the need for a long-term highway bill funded by the federal motor fuels tax and to oppose expanded tolling and rest area activities.

    NATSO members attended a luncheon with guest speaker Neil Chatterjee, a senior policy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

    Politics

    and Pie AT NATSO'S DAY ON CAPITOL HILL 2015

    1. Tuesday evening NATSO hosted its annual

    Capitol Hill pie reception, serving nearly 250 pies to

    legislators and their staff.

    2. Fred Jubitz, Jubitz Travel Center, Tom Heinz, Coffee

    Cup Fuel Stops & Convenience Stores, Inc. and Michael

    Lawshe meet with Rep. Peter Defazio (D-Ore.).

    3. Bob Wollenman, Deluxe Truck Stop and Joel

    Hamilton, Joplin 44 Petro meet with J.P. Morgan

    of Rep. Sam Graves' (R-Mo.) office.

    4. Several attendees stopped for a photo

    in front of the Capitol on the way to their

    legislative visits.

    1 2 3

    4

    www.natso.com 11

  • Find Ways to Boost Food Service

    TRUCKSTOP AND TRAVEL PLAZA OPERATORS

    12 July/August 2015

  • T ruckers stop two to four times other than when they are fu-eling. Capturing those stops can bring the highest profitability for independents, said Jim Fisher, founder and chief executive officer of the market research firm IMST Corp.

    EVALUATING EXISTING OFFERINGS The first step to growing a food ser-vice program is for truckstop and travel plaza operators to understand the success of their current food pro-grams, said Darren Schulte, vice pres-ident of membership for NATSO. To do that, operators should compare fuel gallon sales to food service sales.

    Are the customers that are fuel-ing with you coming inside and eat-ing with you? Make a connection so you understand what a customer means to your inside, Schulte said, adding that operators can compare fuel sales to coffee, grab-and-go or full-service restaurant sales.

    Schulte said that locations vary, so there is no right number when it comes to the ratio of fuel and food ser-vice purchases. Simply having a num-ber gives operators a place to start. Once you have it, start examining it as you make changes, Schulte said.

    Even programs that are doing well should consider how theyre going to transform in the future. The food ser-vice industry is all about change and what is current and what is hip, said Michael Lawshe, president of Paragon Solutions. You have to be evolving.

    Because there are so many aspects to a food service program, know-ing where to make changes can be challenging.

    Lawshe said that often times, opera-tors dont know exactly where to start. They say, Maybe Ill make it pretty or change the booths or add chicken. There are a lot of maybes, and the challenge is to do away with what is easiest and what is most convenient and do the work to determine what is best for your location, he said.

    Before operators can determine how theyre going to grow their food service, they need to have a good understanding of what they want to accomplish and whether or not they can commit to it, Fisher said.

    Understand within your organi-zation if youre capable of handling a strong food service program or if youd be best served to go the fran-chise route or go the lease route, Fisher said. The first step is to take

    TREND

    BY MINDY LONG

    Food service is becoming a more important component of the overall sales at truckstops and travel plazas, and todays customers are demanding greater quality and convenience in the food they purchase. To be successful in food service, operators need to look at several aspects of their business, including their current offerings, their current customer demographics, and the wants and needs of customers they hope to capture.

    www.natso.com 13

  • a hard-core analysis of your organiza-tion and establish if you can do this and do it successfully.

    UNDERSTANDING THE CUSTOMERLawshe said growing food service always comes back to who the cus-tomer is. You want to understand who your customer is today and what your customer base could be, he said, adding that data is the key to understanding existing and poten-tial customers along with how their needs are changing.

    Among professional drivers, speed has become more important as hours-of-service regulations have changed. Michael Ouimet, president of Oiumet Resources, which operates travel center restaurants in 11 states and provides consulting work, said that, on average, a long-haul, regular route trucker is only eating one full-service meal every other day. Fifteen years ago that was two full-service meals a day, he said.

    Not only are todays drivers pressed for time, the younger generations have grown up with quick-serve brands. For that generation, if they werent eating fast food three or four times a week, it was unusual, Ouimet said.

    In addition to looking at existing sales, operators should ask fuel cus-tomers where they are buying their inside purchases, Fisher said. I

    think retailers should be constantly surveying their customers, he said.

    Getting customer feedback is critical, but that only gives you in-sight into the existing customer, Lawshe said.

    To help understand customers, Lawshe often obtains studies from IMST or other groups that do statisti-cal analysis. There are so many lay-ers that you can dig deeper into, he said. Often times it will say there are preferences toward this type of foodMexican or pizzaand this demo-graphic is in the area.

    Fisher said, There is data out there that takes the buying habits of the residents and locals and shows where theyre spending their money. We will also do a study that shows within trade areas with similar char-acteristics to this trade area, on a national basis, where consumers are spending their dollarspizza, chicken, sandwiches.

    Rather than take a build it and they will come approach, Fisher said locations should cater to the demo-graphic. Trade areas dictate what will be sold, he said, adding that trade areas are constantly changing. After 10 years, the trade area you built to serve is very different and you better be adjusting, too.

    Lawshe said examining potential customers is important for future growth. It isnt just who youre get-ting today, it is who you are missing today that you have to find, Law-she said. Once you understand that profile, you can look operationally at a whole series of questions.

    TRACKING CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDSAcross the board, the current trend is toward freshly prepared, quality food. Years ago drivers who were surveyed would tell you they were eating better,

    but then theyd go and buy the double cheeseburger in the restaurant. There is a group now that is going to encour-age all of us to step up our game on freshness and flavor, Ouimet said. I think that locations that have really good full-service restaurants are going to get a little bit of a bump because the guys who are eating that one full-service meal are looking for something real and homemade. Theyre looking for something special.

    Fisher said that in recent years, fast food chains, such as Wendys, Mc-Donalds and Burger King, have lost their edge. McDonalds reported an 11 percent decrease in revenue and a 30 percent drop in profits for the first three months of year. The chain also announced that it had closed 350 poorly performing stores in Ja-pan, the United States and China in the first three months of 2015, and Fisher said this type of performance is creating opportunities for truck-stop and travel plaza operators.

    Ouimet said he is seeing sales of healthy grab-and-go items increase. Salads, fresh fruits and vegetables, hard boiled eggs and deviled eggs are flying out of his grab-and-go cases.

    Sapp Bros. Travel Centers has seen its food sales increase, particularly in the grab-and-go arena. Sapp Bros. operates a proprietary restaurant, Apple Barrel, at six travel centers. We have quality ingredients and are proud of what we serve. When we talked about how that translates into grab and go, we wanted that quality to carry over, said Jeff Ryan, direc-tor of merchandising for Sapp Bros.

    Sapp Bros. began preparing and packaging grab-and-go foods in its restaurant that it could offer in its c-stores. We do hot meals along with sandwiches and salads and yogurts, Ryan said. The grab and go con-

    14 July/August 2015

  • tinues to sell very well and increases month over month continuously.

    Whats more, the grab-and-go sales havent led to a decrease in restaurant sales, Ryan said. It is all incremen-tal sales. There are two different cus-tomer basesone that has time to sit down and enjoy a meal with us and one who wants a quality meal and doesnt have time to sit down and en-joy it, he said.

    Ryan said the hot to-go specials depend on the daily special in the restaurant. We prepare the same special of the day and put them in to-go packages where the products are labeled and clearly seen and avail-able on the self-serve hot cases, he said, adding that they take the same meal, chill it and sell it cold in the c-store for drivers to re-heat later.

    The restaurant also prepares desserts to go. It seems like even the custom-ers who want to eat healthy five days a week want to indulge every once in a while. It is human nature, Ryan said.

    When it comes to packaging food, Ryan said Sapp Bros. uses clear con-tainers and labels, which are impor-tant so customers know what theyre getting and when it was prepared. It builds confidence within that trans-action, he said. We concentrate on freshness and early on we said we wouldnt worry about waste but focus on providing freshness.

    Unfortunately, shrink is simply part of doing business within the fresh category. Ryan said, Over time, if you always provide fresh products, your self-branding builds and sales grow. As your sales build, the waste goes down.

    Fisher said, People are afraid of shrink, but it becomes a part of do-ing business. To offer fresh, if it says use by such and such, get rid of it

    after that. If it says 12:20 and it is 12:30, dump it.

    Fisher added that proprietary pro-grams, such as Sapp Bros., hold the most potential for profits. Ouimet said that one challenge for independent operators has been that they havent al-ways documented their programs.

    You might have Betty Lou who makes great sandwiches and is do-ing great, but then Betty Lou leaves and the program dies. More op-erators are starting to put together more documentation because they realize the program is only as good as the documentation that goes with it, he said.

    OPTIMIZING OFFERINGSSchulte said once operators under-stand who their customers are and what they want, they can consider making over their menus.

    But evolving doesnt mean sim-ply adding to the menu. People in our industry tend to let their menu grow, but they dont cut any-thing. For everything you add to the menu, you probably should be tak-ing something off, Lawshe said.

    Fisher said, You have to evaluate and say, Is this still a viable product to have?

    To make the most of their menus, Schulte recommends operators look at customization rather than grow-ing their SKU counts. It is the 80-20 rule. Figure out the 20 percent of the products in the food service that you sell the most of and expand on those, Schulte said. You can focus on your chili and put chili on Fritos or hot dogs or spaghetti. It is the customization that matters. [Customization is also impor-tant in a locations beverage offering. See related story page 20].

    In some cases, remaining successful means finding a new way to take on a traditional offering. Our industry loves the full breakfast and all that it entails, but there are many ways to do that, Lawshe said.

    Instead of having wait staff take orders, operators could have custom-ers order at the counter, then have the food delivered to the table. It is more like the Panera Bread modelyou go through the line, you have a full menu, you order and then they bring it to you. There are a lot of effi-ciencies in doing that, Lawshe said.

    TAKING A HOLISTIC APPROACHWhile the food and presentation with-in a food service area is a primary driv-er of a program, Fisher said locations have to look at their overall operations when looking to increase sales.

    If you have great food service but your price sign has dirt behind the numbers and your dispensers are filthy, thats not going to promote food service, Fisher said.

    Curb appeal is crucial for interstate locations. Appearance gives you the ability to bring that customer in for the first time, but an appearance is like an Army recruiterit will only get you once. To have a behavioral, habitual change, you have to have that total experience for customers, he said.

    www.natso.com 15

  • Bridgestone Commercial Solutions

    Roger Phillips535 Marriott Drive, 8th FloorNashville, TN 37214

    (615) 937-3405 (615) 493-2712

    [email protected] www.trucktires.com

    CAT Scale Co.

    Delia Moon Meier515 Sterling DriveWalcott, IA 52773

    (563) 284-6263 (563) 284-6475

    [email protected] www.catscale.com

    Chevron Products Co. Global Lubricants-Americas Region

    Patty Looney394 S.W. 27th TerraceDelray, FL 33445

    (561) 632-7347 (561) 921-0367

    [email protected] www.deloperformance.com

    Coca-Cola Refreshments

    J.T. McMahan2500 Windy Ridge Pkwy.Atlanta, GA 30339

    (770) 200-8892 (770) 989-3565

    [email protected] www.thecoca-colacompany.com

    DAS Companies Inc.

    Gordon Price724 Lawn RoadPalmyra, PA 17078

    (717) 507-0363 or (800) 251-9104 ext. 259

    (800) 842-1992 [email protected] www.dasinc.com

    Double Coin Tire

    Jim Manning4778 Devonwood Ct.Lakeland, FL 33801-0370

    (813) 476-1918 (626) 301-9579

    [email protected] www.doublecointires.com

    Federated Insurance

    Jerry Leemkuil121 E. Park SquareOwatonna, MN 55060

    (507) 455-5507 (507) 455-7840

    [email protected] www.federatedinsurance.com

    First Data

    Dan Hudson5565 Glenridge Connector NEAtlanta, GA 30342

    (703) 398-5831 (402) 315-5452

    [email protected] www.firstdata.com

    Gilbarco Veeder-Root

    Paul Kaper7300 W. Friendly Ave.Greensboro, NC 27410-6232

    (336) 547-5748 [email protected] www.gilbarco.com

    Howes Lubricator

    Stephen Sikorsky60 Ocean State DriveNorth Kingstown, RI 02852

    (401) 294-5500 (401) 294-4229

    [email protected] www.howeslube.com

    16 July/August 2015

  • KSG Distributing Inc.

    Don Paddock1121 Flint Meadow DriveKaysville, UT 84037

    (801) 390-3820 (801) 991-1821

    [email protected] www.ksgdist.com

    McLane Co. Inc.

    Sean Luce4747 McLane ParkwayTemple, TX 76504

    (254) 742-3675 [email protected] www.mclaneco.com

    Michelin North America

    Josh JarvisOne Parkway SouthGreenville, SC 29615

    (864) 458-4574 or (505) 307-8797 [email protected] www.michelintruck.com

    Mobil Delvac

    Craig Barr3225 Gallows RoadFairfax, VA 22037

    (360) 601-9797 (280) 445-2299

    [email protected] www.mobildelvac.com

    Paragon Solutions

    Michael Lawshe201 Main St., Suite 1150Fort Worth, TX 76102

    817-927-7171 ext. 201 (817) 927-8131

    [email protected] [email protected]

    Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC

    Robert Lake3200 Rice Mine Road N.E.Tuscaloosa, AL 35406

    (205) 248-1235 (205) 345-0958

    [email protected] www.rrpub.com

    Renewable Energy Group

    Jon Scharingson416 S. Bell Ave.Ames, IA 50010

    (515) 239-8042 (515) 509-1259

    [email protected] www.regi.com

    S&D Coffee & Tea

    John Morris300 Concord Parkway S.Concord, NC 28027

    (800) 933-2210 (804) 794-2725

    [email protected] www.sndcoffee.com

    Shell Lubricants

    Christian Peters3400 Watertown PlaceBirmingham, AL 35243

    (713) 241-2571 (281) 482-4189

    [email protected] www.rotella.com

    The Truckers FriendNational Truck Stop Directory

    Robert de VosP.O. Box 476Clearwater, FL 33757

    (727) 446-2866 (727) 443-4921

    [email protected] www.truckstops.com

    Valvoline

    Gigi Rollinsc/o Bobbi Brophy3499 Blazer ParkwayLexington, KY 40509

    (843) 793-8490 (859) 357-2359

    [email protected] www.valvolinehd.com

    www.natso.com 17

  • Highway congestion, the driver shortage and supply chain optimization are all causing shippers and carriers to examine the way they move freight. The top 10 percent of all trade corridors move 79 percent of all goods, according to a report by the Brookings In-stitute, but the amount of traffic on those corridors could shift due to these five factors.

    CHANGES IN DISTRIBUTION CENTERS

    The need to get items to consumers quickly cou-pled with concerns over aging infrastructure and supply chain disruptions is driving a growing num-ber of retailers and shippers to posi-tion product regionally throughout the country. They are also turning to a variety of fulfillment methods, en-suring they have adequate supplies of just-in-time along with just-in-case inventory available when it is needed.

    Tom Jensen, a transportation poli-cy expert for UPS, said the shipping company is seeing more retailers lever-age their stores as mini-distribution centers in an effort to optimize their supply chain, which moves inven-tory closer to consumers and allows retailers to minimize markdowns by shipping an item to an online buyer instead of offering it on sale.

    Macys is among retailers that are now fulfilling orders from the store, giving them, in effect, mini distribu-tion centers throughout the country. The retailer has rolled out fulfill-ment capability at 500 Macys stores nationwide. The rapid growth of Macys direct-to-customer ship-ments, rooted in our omni-channel approach to business, requires us to continue to strategically add fulfill-ment capacity so our customers can receive their orders quickly and effi-ciently, said Terry Lundgren, chair-man, president and chief executive officer of Macys Inc.

    Richard Thompson, managing di-rector of supply chain and logistics solutions at the real estate firm Jones Lange LaSalle, said he has seen an increase in the number of traditional retailers moving into dedicated ful-fillment facilities so they can ship to

    the consumer directly instead of ful-filling retail stores.

    Over the past few years Thompson has also seen a broadening of demand for warehouse space in smaller mar-kets. Youre seeing increased demand in regional requirements and an uptick in more secondary markets, he said.

    However, some companies are moving out of rural locations, where land has traditionally been less expen-sive, to more urban areas in order to position product closer to consumers and reliable transportation networks. For example, Amazon closed its one-million square foot distribution cen-ter in Coffeyville, Kansas in February to relocate closer to a larger city.

    Theyre closing it essentially be-cause it is inconvenient from a freight cost standpoint. If you look at a map and see Coffeyville, Kansas, it is in the middle of nowhere, Thompson said.

    CONGESTION

    Congestion on the nations highways will cost Ameri-cans $276 billion annually by 2020, according to a report from

    BY MINDY LONG

    TREND

    18 July/August 2015

  • the BlueGreen Alliance, a coalition of labor and environmental groups. The Alliance cited the American Society of Civil Engineers 2013 report card that said 42 percent of Americans major urban highways are congested. U.S. infrastructure received a D+ grade in the most recent report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

    Carriers and shippers may begin to shift away from the most congested areas in order to keep freight moving. AIT Worldwide Logistics, Itasca, Illi-nois, works with its customers to try and alleviate bottlenecks throughout the supply chain, starting with the point of origin. The company sets up virtual warehouses for customers within its own facilitiesit has 38 of them throughout the U.S.and stocks high velocity items to get them closer to the customer.

    One of our clients did a lot of busi-ness through one point. The follow-ing year we moved it to five points. It allowed us to allow the seller to change their cut off date for delivery by Christmas. By us moving product, they could change that cut off by six days, giving them six more selling days, said John Hagi, AITs director of home delivery and special services.

    AIT Worldwide Logistics has turned to technology to try to streamline its shipping. We created a technology platform we call the capacity manage-ment tool that allows us to spread that volume out throughout the supply chain. Even at the beginning, it allows us to move product effectively so that we have a funnel that is as wide at the bottom as it is at the top, Hagi said.

    Congestion at ports can shift freight as well. Recently, congestion at Pa-cific Coast ports led to an increase in freight volume at ports in Savannah, North Charleston, Wilmington and

    Norfolk. Several Atlantic ports are im-proving their infrastructure in advance of the widening of the Panama Canal.

    THE SHIFT IN ENERGY PRODUCTION

    The increase in oil and natural gas production in the U.S. led to a spike in the number of trucks on the road in certain areas, but that may wane as the price of oil drops and U.S. pro-duction declines. Several major oil companies have announced plans to cease drilling. Not only will that af-fect the amount of petroleum prod-ucts being moved, it will also cause a decrease in the movement of drilling equipment and supplies.

    DRIVER DEMANDS

    The driver shortage is con-tinuing to increase, and carriers are doing every-thing they can to attract and retain drivers. For many carriers, that has meant creating more regional routes and shortening the length of haul so drivers are home more often.

    This reduction in average length of haul has been an ongoing trend and it now averages around 500 miles. However, Bob Costello, chief econo-mist with American Trucking Asso-

    ciations, told Stop Watch some carri-ers have said they are trying to boost their average length of haul. After years and years of bringing it down to try and get drivers home more of-ten and because a lot of large retail-ers have opened distribution centers across the country, weve had a few members try to tell us theyre work-ing to boost their average length of haul because they have a group of drivers complaining about not be-ing able to earn as good of a living, Costello said.

    CHANGES IN DEMOGRAPHICS

    Shifts in the population and housing needs could change freight demands. According to the most recent census, Texas gained more people than any other state during the Census period. Other fast-growing states included California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

    For 2015, Forbes listed the top ten fastest growing cities as Hous-ton, Austin and Dallas, Texas; Raleigh, North Carolina; Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; San Francisco; Fort Worth, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and San Antonio, Texas.

    The American Transportation Research Institutes latest report on congestion revealed the top ten congestion points the trucking industry faces.

    Fort Lee, NJ: I-95 at SR 4

    Chicago, IL: I-290 at I-90/I-94

    Atlanta, GA: I-285 at I-85 (North)

    Cincinnati, OH: I-71 at I-75

    Houston, TX: I-45 at US 59

    Houston, TX: I-610 at US 290

    St. Louis, MO: I-70 at I-64 (West)

    Los Angeles, CA: SR 60 at SR 57

    Louisville, KY: I-65 at I-64/I-71

    Austin, TX: I-35

    www.natso.com 19

  • FOUNDATION UPDATE

    Customization + Variety = The Future of Beverage Sales BY MINDY LONG

    F rom traditional and craft so-das to coconut water to energy drinks, todays consumers have more choices than ever when select-ing a beverage, and the number of drinks competing for cooler space is expected to grow.

    As the food service continues to grow, the beverage companies are go-ing to keep introducing new prod-ucts, said Stephanie Kowitz, director of shopper insights for Coca-Cola.

    The good news for the travel plaza industry is that their customers are buying those beverages. Kowitz said 64 percent of inside sales at truckstops and travel plazas include the purchase of a beverage, and three beverage cate-goriescarbonated soft drinks, energy and waterdeliver over 70 percent of the volume of beverage sales.

    While there is a lot of potential with-in the category, travel plazas are most often limited by their cooler space, which means they need to be sure they stock the right products.

    To help make space in their cool-ers, Darren Schulte, vice president of membership for NATSO, suggests op-erators look at the number of sizes they offer and said it isnt necessary to offer every available option.

    When determining what size to stock, Kowitz said larger immediate consumption package sizes, such as one liters, are an advantage for truck-stop retailers over convenience stores.

    Sean Flynn, general manager of Fly-nns Truck Plaza, has tried to cut down on the number of facings he gives one product. Every soda company wants as many facings of their best-selling product as possible. That doesnt help

    us sell, but it just looks good, he said. If guy wants a Coke 20 ounce, he is going to get the Coke 20 ounce and you dont have to have 10 facings of it.

    Flynn said that he has found group-ing like items togethersuch as colas with other colasmakes more sense for the consumer. Flynn has been able to maximize cooler space so he could dedicate one door to local, craft so-das, which is appealing to locals and travelers alike.

    We have gone to a local bottler, Polar Beverages. They have some local flavorsa birch beer, Cape Cod cran-berry dry seltzerthat you dont see other places, Flynn said.

    Flynn said it is fun for customers to try new flavors and he hopes they find something that will bring them in again. If you find something unique you cant get at a large chain, that is a benefit, he said.

    To help determine the best product mix, Schulte suggests operators look at their local demographic. Every travel center is different, but sometimes trav-el center owners or operators, because theyre on the interstate, can forget they have a strong local presence and forget to consider what the local trends or flavors are, Schulte said.

    In addition to craft sodas, craft beers are one way to tap into the local flavor. Schulte said, There might be a par-ticular craft beer in your market that really does well and why wouldnt you want to offer that and make that part of what your known for?

    Michael Ouimet, president of Oiu-met Resources, which operates travel

    TREND

    20 July/August 2015

  • FOUNDATION UPDATE

    center restaurants in 11 states and provides consulting work, has one lo-cation that features 100 types of beer and displays 99 bottles of beer on the wall. We display them by the bottle and you can pick six for one price, he said. It is a point of difference.

    Broadway Flying J Travel Plazas ded-icated one door in its 15-door cooler at one Montana location to local craft beers, which has resonated with a range of customers. Were on the road to West Yellowstone, and we have a lot of tourists who try the craft beers, said Damon Borden, a manager at Broad-way Flying J. Even the locals know you can get it at our store and come back and get it.

    Broadway Flying J sells the craft beers by the six-pack and in 24-ounce bottles and has placed special signage on the door. Whats more, staff has taken time to visit the local breweries, so they can answer any questions cus-tomers have about the beers.

    While the craft beers are popular, the top-selling drinks at Broadway Flying J Travel Plazas are energy drinks, which are selling even better than water, Bor-den said. Monster is our top seller, even greater than Red Bull, he said.

    Flynn has also found success with Bawls Guarana, an energy drink. There was no distributor around here, but we bought pallets from the manu-facturer and kept them in our ware-house. We had people driving down from a state away to get it, he said.

    Flynn is also having success with canned iced coffees and coconut water. Americans are now buying around $400 million in coconut water annually, according to the re-search group Euromonitor.

    Kowitz said tea sales are exploding, and the National Restaurant Associa-tion listed specialty iced tea as a top trend in 2015.

    Iced coffees and teas are the fast-est growing beverage segments Borden sees. We sell as much in the winter as in the summer. That Gen X customer is moving away from coffee in general and is look-ing for iced coffees and smoothies and iced teas, he said.

    While SKU count is important, Schulte said the ability to custom-ize is a priority. One of the grow-ing trends is customization of your fountain drinks, like the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, Schulte said. There are dozens of flavors on that machine, but I think there are 30,000 different combinations you could come up with. That is what customization is. That makes sense versus having every soda under the sun in your cooler.

    During The NATSO Show 2015, J.T. McMahan, sales director for Coca-Cola, told attendees, Cus-tomization is king.

    Kowitz said creating easy food and beverage bundles can help spur beverage sales and meet customers needs. Thirty-nine percent of food service shoppers say the availability of combination offers is important to their location decision, Kowitz said. Combination bundles are most important for midmorning snacks, lunch and mid-afternoon snacks.

    Operators may want to tap into marketing that encourages custom-ers to make a purchase for now and for later, such as signage that shows a fountain drink bundled with a bottled beverage.

    While gas and diesel is the most in-fluential item that determines when and where a customer stops, the most impulse purchases are candy, gum, mints, salty snacks, carbonated soft drinks and candy.

    QUICK TIP: Cooler space at

    truckstops and travel plazas is limited, but

    Stephanie Kowitz, director of shopper marketing for Coca-

    Cola, said it is important to remember

    that not everyone is after a cold beverage.

    Some people prefer room temperature drinks, she said.

    Forty-one percent of truckstop and travel

    plaza customers prefer room temperature

    bottled water.

    www.natso.com 21

  • BY MINDY LONG

    22 July/August 2015

  • lanning has always been an important part of operations at Sacramento 49er, but three

    years ago, Tristen Griffith, general manager of the location, decided she needed a more detailed approach. Griffith hired a consultant who helped her craft a written document the company evaluates annually and lives by all year.

    Ideas can apply to any aspect of the business and include short- and long-term projects. One manager might think we need to renovate our parking lot and update paving. That is something that we know isnt going to get done this year, but we want it on our strategic plan be-cause we know we need to get to it within a certain time, Griffith said.

    Most items on the list can be ac-complished within a year, but the document also includes items that are part of a five-year plan, such as a major shower renovation.

    It is getting to be a lengthy docu-ment, but we can look at it and say this is where we started and this is where we are, Griffith said. In the manager meetings, we discuss where we are with it and even when some-thing is done, we go back throughout the year and touch every one of them.

    At Sacramento 49er, every manager in every department thinks of ideas at the beginning of the year and the company comes up with start dates, end dates and deliverables.

    Darren Schulte, vice president of membership at NATSO, said it is those types of details that can determine the

    success of the plan. To be effective, strategies needs to be executable, at-tainable and actionable, Schulte said. Dont put a plan in place unless youre going to measure it.

    To track success, it is important to hold people accountable, Schulte explained. Sacramento 49er makes one person responsible for each item within its strategic plan. Nobody is alone at it but there is a lead, Griffith said, adding that the company re-views steps within the plan regularly.

    For example, Sacramento 49er iden-tified a goal of increasing traffic in the truck wash, so they created a loyalty program. Even after the loyalty pro-gram got underway, they continued to look at the deliverable and identify additional ways to boost traffic.

    Deanne Schatz, operations man-ager at the Petro Fargo, said draft-ing a strategic plan can help opera-tors identify items that need repair. Sometimes when you are here every day, its hard to see what needs to be upgraded or fixed because you are used to seeing it, she said. When you put a timeline on things, you start looking at whats out there now versus what you have, such as gas dispensers and awnings, and see what the new ones look like and figure out how many versions back you are. Then you can really start to see clearly the wear and tear and just how worn down things are.

    The Petro Fargo makes it a goal to evaluate its parking lots and drive-ways annually and commit to keep-ing them pothole free. Schatz said the

    TREND

    www.natso.com 23

  • Operators said tracking their returns on investment is an important part of their strategic plan. Keith Wade, operations director at Petro Dodge City #397, shared how he calculates the ROI on a new project:

    Lets say you remove an arcade and decide to add a western clothing area in this space.

    FIRST STEP: Figure out your current sales per square foot in your existing clothing area.

    SECOND STEP: Figure out the costs for the renovation.

    THIRD STEP: Calculate your projected profit.

    FINAL STEP: Divide your profit into the cost of the renovations to get the ROI.

    companys main building and facility is 20 years old, so they are completely re-facing it along with the fuel island. We have been planning and working on it for a year as its quite an extensive project, she said.

    For Keith Wade, operations di-rector at Petro Dodge City #397, organization is key to planning. I was taught the Five Ps early in my lifePrior Planning Prevents Poor Performance, he explained, adding that he has a Site Improvement Bi-ble that helps him stay organized.

    The Site Improvement Bible is housed in an Excel spreadsheet and has several pieces of information, in-cluding active and complete projects. I list and track almost every inter-mediate to large project in this list, Wade said, adding that upgrades are crucial. Travel centers age three years every year because they are open 24 hours a day.

    Schulte said that when crafting a plan, operators should be realistic and understand the companys cur-rent resources and how they fit into the plan. Your goal might be to have regular meetings every month, but the fact of the matter is youre short handed and cant. Or you say youre going to clean the restroom every 10 minutes but you only have one custo-dian on staff, Schulte said. To make it executable and realistic, you have to look at what you can do to get there. Avoid doing pie in the sky planning or things that dont make sense.

    Schulte said that doesnt mean companies cant dream big, but that to be successful, they need to have a clear and executable strategy. He added that he has seen plans fail be-cause they arent realistic. With the best plans, you give yourself a realistic timeline that is achievable and you go the length. It is important for whoev-

    er is doing the leading to understand that, he said.

    Sacramento 49er has also started a reserve fund to finance the strategic plan and equipment purchases. We look at anything that is in there and expected renovations and how much we should be saving for that every year, Griffith said.

    The reserve fund includes a list of all of the companys major equip-mentitems that cost more than $5,000such as the roof, air con-ditioning units and pavement.

    We hired a company to do a reserve study and go into every department and list every item over $5,000, its ex-pected life and the replacement cost, Griffith said. If you know you have five more years left on an item and it will cost you $100,000 to replace it, you need to be saving $20,000 a year.

    Griffith said organizing the reserve fund was daunting. The first year we had to save over $1 million and some odd dollars. We couldnt do that, but that was the starting point, she said. Just opening the accounts and getting it started was a big step.

    For Wade, calculating a projects re-turn on investment can help him de-termine success. He said most of his re-cent intermediate projects have a ROI of around one-and-a-half years, while some simple projects, such as new fix-tures or candy bins, can have a ROI of three months (learn more about how he calculates his ROI in the sidebar).

    Once a plan is in place, it is im-portant that the entire team execute it and keep the long-term vision in mind. As a plan moves forward, there are two things that have to be thought through, Schulte said. You cant give up on a plan just because it got rough, but you also have to rec-ognize if a plan needs to be adjusted or just abandoned.

    24 July/August 2015

  • F or four decades Jim Glover has owned Pine Cone Restaurant in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. In late 1990, he also bought Pine Cone Travel Plaza.Located 40 minutes outside of Madison, Wisconsin, the location features a

    convenience store, CAT Scale, ATM, copy and fax services, and a fresh deli and bakery in addition to the travel plaza.

    These days the fresh deli and bakery is really buzzing. We offer many services, but the bakery has been the largest increase in the last couple years. The bakery in general has doubled in the last five years, Glover said.

    He attributes the growth to customers wanting freshly prepared, quality food. We make everything from scratch and fresh to order, he said.

    All food offered at the location is made there and is fresh. Glover doesnt buy anything pre-made. This is a strong selling point for the truckstop and keeps customers coming back. People really like food that is made in house. I hear this daily. They don't like the pre-made food/bakery, he said.

    They also take the time to offer specialized food. Customers love that we make their food to order, Glover said.

    Glover told Stop Watch most truck drivers seem to have less time now than in years past. As a result, sales of the truckstops grab-and-go items have increased. The biggest items for grab and go would be cookies and rice crispies, he said, adding that they make most everything they sell available in a grab-and-go format with yogurt cups, subs, bakery items and pizza being especially popular.

    Hes also noticed a big increase in sales of salads and strawberries and other fruits, especially in the summer. I wouldn't say that they are eating healthier, but there is a noticeable increase in the summer with fruits and salads, Glover said.

    The biggest difference I hear about our location is that our prices are very low, he added. He said most the truck drivers are just amazed by the prices and quantity of food they receive.

    This focus on food is keeping the truckstop very busy. We don't have any plans for future change. Right now we are so busy we are just trying to keep everything going, he said.

    CO OKIES RICE CRISPIESAT PINE CONE TRAVEL PLAZA

    AND

    BY AMY TONER

    www.natso.com 25

  • Where: Donnas Travel CenterGREAT IDEA: In 2013, Donnas Travel Center in Marysville, Washington, added a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine that allows customers to choose from more than 40 Coca-Cola products to create their own special drink. This Great Idea al-lows Donnas to capitalize on the growing trend of customization. Allowing customers to create their own unique products is becoming an expectation, especially for millennials. Customization elevates customer loyalty and en-gagementand this leads to word-of-mouth promotion to potentially un-tapped customers.

    GREAT IDEAS IN ACTION

    HAVE A GREAT IDEA YOU WANT TO SUBMIT? Send a high-resolution picture of your locations great idea and the story behind it to Amy Toner at [email protected].

    NEW MEMBERS

    NEW TRAVEL PLAZA MEMBERS

    WOLFF TRAVEL PLAZA (Flying J Dealer #551)16851 IH 20Cisco, TX 76437PHONE: (254) 442-1040 CONTACT: Larry Wolff

    NEW ALLIED MEMBERS

    BUCKET WONDERS1145 South 1680 WestOrem, UT 84058PHONE: (801) 221-9894FAX: (801) 221-0864CONTACT: Bonnie GundersonEMAIL: [email protected]

    A&W RESTAURANTS INC.1648 McGrathiana Pkwy, Suite 380Lexington, KY 40511PHONE: (855) 766-8232FAX: (859) 721-1328CONTACT: Jeana BanksEMAIL: [email protected]

    H.T. HACKNEY CO.502 S. Gay St., Suite 300Knoxville, TN 37902PHONE: (865) 246-1291CONTACT: Heather ButlerEMAIL: [email protected]

    PEAK COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL4065 Commercial Ave.Northbrook, IL 60062-1828PHONE: (847) 559-2169FAX: (847) 664-7011CONTACT: Sean WheatleyEMAIL: [email protected]

    26 July/August 2015