A remodel or renovation can give a location a face-lift and improve its aesthetics, but to be truly effective, changes should also strive to improve the store layout, offerings and merchandising in ways that reflect the latest sales trends. When done right, remodels can help operators increase sales and attract new customers.
“Following the trends and paying attention to the trends is what leads to a good remodel. You don’t want to just make it pretty. You want to make it effective,” said Michael Lawshe, president of the design firm Paragon Solutions.
Darren Schulte, vice president of membership for NATSO, said the move towards improvements is increasing. “During my travels to truckstops nationwide, I’ve seen that operators are working to maximize their capital improvement investments and create differentiation from their competitors,” he said.
Renovations come in all shapes and sizes, and there are a number of factors that can help operators determine how extensive their remodeling plans should be, but for Lawshe a renovation should always start with the numbers.
“When people do a remodel, I ask what they’re doing other than making cosmetic changes to generate revenue. You have to take a step back and start analyzing each of the categories within the store prior to a remodel,” Lawshe said. “You have to look at what you’re going to be getting for a return on your investment. You don’t do it to feed your ego, you do it to feed your family.”
Gathering Ideas From Everywhere
Delia Moon Meier, senior vice president for the Iowa 80 Group, said the company is always looking at the latest trends, whether they are within the truckstop industry or not. “We encourage everyone that works here to take a picture if they see something neat in any industry no matter where they’re at. We have an unbelievable number of pictures of cool ideas,” Moon Meier said, adding that she looked through six different photo books for ideas for the company’s current renovation project at Kenly 95 TA Truckstop in Kenly, North Carolina.
Lawshe suggests operators seek out ideas from other industries as well. “Keep in mind big box retailer ideas such as cross-merchandising and displaying products in more intuitive ways,” he said.
Tapping Into Four-Wheel Traffic
Schulte said that given today’s trends, locations should consider how they can attract travelers as well as local traffic. “You can look to spotlight ideas and themes, such as highlighting locally made or specially selected items,” he said.
Like many locations, Eastgate Travel Plaza in Evansville, Wyoming, has three large customer bases that it wants to appeal to—professional drivers, tourists and locals. The company is currently undergoing a complete rebuild, which was driven by its desire to serve a broad range of customers.
“We knew that we wanted this place to have as much as possible. We have thrown everything in that we could think of,” said Tiffany Mortimer, a business advisor for Eastgate Travel Plaza.
Eastgate Travel Plaza has added a playground and dog park, and placed propane and dump and air stations closer to the road so it is easier for RV traffic to pull in. “We also added four gasoline pumps for a total of 10 gasoline pumps and we added CNG on both the gasoline side and the truck diesel side,” Mortimer said.
Determining The Scope Of The Remodel
Lawshe told Stop Watch it is wise for operators to take a broad approach when making changes. “The remodel isn’t always moving walls. Sometimes it is changing programs,” he said. “Look at expanding services and doing things differently, and take a look at the alternate services you’re offering—dog parks, interactive game rooms. Are those staying fresh?”
Eastgate Travel Plaza is using its rebuild as an opportunity to expand areas that have performed well. The company has always had success with its drive-thru lane for liquor and beer and will carry the concept over to the new space. However, Mortimer said it will be a “more ramped up” version. “I want you to be able to get a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread, but we also do our own deli. We’ll offer rotisserie chickens and you can get your onion and potatoes to go with it. We’re going to be a mini-grocery store,” she said.
To accomplish its goals, Eastgate Travel Plaza eventually realized it would be easier to get its desired effect by rebuilding from scratch rather than sticking with the original remodel it had planned. “The location, flow and layout of the current location are terrible. It creates a bottleneck and trucks and cars are mingled,” Mortimer said. “There was really no way we could logically use any of the old building. We couldn’t find a way to make the layout work or to justify spending the money to salvage the original building.”
Before committing to a new design and new amenities, representatives from Eastgate Travel Plaza spent about three days driving around Texas and looking at truckstops and convenience stores. “Anything we saw we would pull in and check it out,” Mortimer said.
Seeing great ideas in action can help operators visualize the changes they want to make at their location, which is why 黑料社区has organized domestic study tours for operators to tour and network with their peers. In September, more than 30 travel plaza and truckstop operators met in Omaha, Nebraska, to tour Sapp Bros. Travel Center, Shoemaker’s Travel Plaza and a Boss Shops truck service center. The next study tour will take place on Feb. 25, 2016, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, following The 黑料社区Show. Attendees will tour Wawa and Speedway truckstops.
Focusing On Food Service
Trends in food service have been evolving at a rapid rate, and a remodel is an ideal time to make changes that will help a location capture more food sales. “Make sure your menu is current and that you’re changing consistently. What you did five years ago is inadequate today,” Lawshe said, noting the explosive growth in the grab-and-go segment and the wide variety of equipment and displays that have come on the market.
Eastgate Travel Plaza has opted for franchise locations in the new space, including a Schlotzkys Deli, Cinnabon and Moe’s Southwest Grill. “It will be like a food court type area,” Mortimer said. She added that the location has closed its full-size grill.
Kenly 95 TA Truckstop is adding a Taco Bell and Pizza Hut as part of its renovation. “We’re responding to trends we see in the industry and what our customers want,” said Ernie Brame, the manager of the location. “We look at our customer habits. We look at where we see the business going and we focus on the areas we are successful at.”
Moon Meier said the company typically adheres to a 10-year schedule for certain updates, such as their restaurants. “We try to buy things that will last 10 years and then even though everything might look great still in 10 years, we do it anyway,” she said.
In addition to the food service changes, Kenly 95 is adding 25,000 square feet. “We will focus on expanding bathrooms and adding retail space,” Brame said, adding that the location will double the size of its bathrooms.
Iowa 80 regularly reinvests its profits to make its sites better. “For Iowa 80 we want to have brand-new, like-new interesting sites. That means we’re always building or something is changing or expanding,” Moon Meier said. “There are probably four to five projects at every single location every single year. Sometimes they’re huge and sometimes it is just an update.”
Running A Business鈥� During Construction鈥�
Maintaining operations while under construction is challenging but possible, Moon Meir said. “You just have to work with people and the contractors and let them know you’re going to be open,” she explained.
Brame told Stop Watch the curiosity factor is “huge” with the customers, which business owners can use to their advantage when trying to mitigate the inconveniences construction can bring. “They like to see a business that is growing and see what we are doing,” Brame said.
Brame said it is important to take the proper safety precautions and make sure customers are able to access the areas they need and move about safely. “We do it with barricades and signage,” he said.
Moon Meier said it is more expensive to work around people and make things safe, but not as expensive as it would be to lose revenue from a closed location.
Mortimer said the largest challenge with the construction has involved the location of parking. “It has been difficult. Our truck parking is in Timbuktu,” she said. “It has been painful but our customers see what is coming. My cashiers are good at keeping everyone happy.”
Enjoying The Process
No matter the size or scope of the renovation, Lawshe said he encourages operators to have fun with it. “Reflect your personality. Don’t be boring,” he said. “People want to have fun, so have fun with it.”
Could you use more insight into suriving a major truckstop construction project? Visit NATSO’s blog to discover insights Dave Shoemaker, owner of Shoemaker’s Travel Center in Lincoln, Nebraska gained during his location’s rebuild in the blog post Three Construction Tips From Shoemaker’s Travel Plaza.
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This article originally ran in Stop Watch magazine. Stop Watch provides in-depth content to assist 黑料社区members in improving their travel plaza business operations. The magazine is mailed to 黑料社区members bimonthly. If you are a member and not receiving Stop Watch, submit a request to be added to the mailing list. Not a member? Join today or submit a request to receive additional information. |
Photo Credit: Eastgate Travel Plaza
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