Tiger Truck Stop Offers Up Southern Hospitality and a Taste of Louisiana
Tiger Truck Stop–the last stop on I-10 before heading into the Louisiana capital of Baton Rouge–is as welcoming as the rich Louisiana culture.
They do that through their c-store and restaurant offerings. Customers can pick up Louisiana Cajun spices and specialty foods, including boudin, Alligator sausage and Louisiana gumbo. The restaurant is open 24/7 and serves daily plate lunches.
Shoppers can even purchase Cajun food in bulk to take home. Tiger Truck Stop also features products from Cafe du Monde, a historic coffee shop in New Orleans that is famous for its beignets and chicory coffee.
Transforming the Tiger
Jarreau, along with Beth Jarreau and Johnny and Dana Ewing, purchased the Grosse Tete, Louisiana, location in 2020, and immediately started construction to transformed Tiger into an 18,000 sq. ft. travel center.
The location features 175 free truck parking spaces and 72 car parking spaces. “Tiger sits on 15 acres of concrete which offers tons of room for truckers to park, which is free,” Jarreau added.
It offers showers, laundry facilities, a dog walking path, a truckers’ lounge and more and has a fresh new look. “The orange Tiger striped canopies can be seen from the interstate. The sheer magnitude of the truck stop is amazing,” Jarreau said.
Tiger was founded by Michael Sandlin and up until late 2017, Sandlin raised and kept live tigers on the property for all the visitors to see. “The most famous tiger was the late, Tony, who passed away in October of 2017. Then Casper, a camel, was brought in for the visitors to see,” Jarreau said. “Michael Sandlin made a single truck stop location famous all over the United States.”
However, there are no live animals on-site today nor are there any plans to add them.
Putting People First
Jarreau, who has more than 20 years of experience in the convenience and gas station industry, works onsite and said he has “never met a stranger.” He added that the staff add to customers’ experiences at the location.
Jarreau added that he has had the pleasure of working with many innovative and hard-working professionals, but no one comes close to his partner, Johnny Ewing, who has more than 40 years of experience in managing truck stops and construction businesses.
Welcoming Customers of all Types
Tiger Truck Stop caters to every kind of traveler and truckers and welcomes four-wheel traffic. “We do not want to be a regular truck stop where folks are intimidated to stop because of all the big trucks,” Jarreau explained, adding that the location provides separate driveways and fueling areas for truckers and regular automobiles.
“We worked to change the image of TTS to one that included local flavor and outstanding services to not only locals, but also truckers, families and professionals who travel across the I-10 corridor.”
Jarreau said he loves to work more than anything else and credits his parents for instilling in him the value of hard work. “My father has been in the C-store/service station business for over 46 years, and I worked for him while attending LSU,” he explained. “My goal was to go to law school along with my four best friends. It didn鈥檛 take me long to figure out that I didn’t like to read that much, so I chose to stay back and take over my father鈥檚 business. This led me to TTS and other business ventures.
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