TA morris IL

Black Bear is way better than what could have happened like Chester's..

 

At least they kept a sit down restaurant at the truck stop. They could have closed it and went with all fast food. Now if they would only re-open all the shuttered sit down restaurants in all the other truck stops we would be better off than eating in the fast food stores or roller dogs.

 

Feel free to raise the venture capital to a/ pay all the employees actual fair living wages, b/ take on the responsibility of adhering to all the increased food and workplace safety regulations and c/ take on the financial risk of operating all those sit-down establishments while also having to put up with the rude attitudes of the nastiest billy big-riggers out there...

...Look, I get it, I'd like to see more sit-down establishments, too. But from a business standpoint, a ten-year vet of professional food operations and a fourteen-year vet of trucking, I completely understand, especially after COVID, why so many shut down and unfortunately will not be coming back. Sucks for drivers, for sure. It also, though, makes us appreciate the few diamonds that still exist out there with actual sit-down restaurants that actually serve good real food.

(And as I say that, suddenly I miss Marlin's...doesn't exist down here in Okieland...)

 

Buc,

Your points are well taken but they are the cost of doing business. A lot of drivers have decided to cook and eat in their trucks thus there is no need for a truck stop to maintain a restaurant at a loss of income. When they raise the cost of showers a lot of drivers complain but spend no money in the truck stop. When the truck stops charge for parking drivers complain but still will not spend a dime in the truck stops. Sorry to be an old timer from back in the 1960's-1980's but then we drove on paper logs, fueled, showered and sat down to eat our meals. Times are different but the old days were a lot simpler and enjoyable and affordable.

 

Black Bear Diner has excellent food, and large portions. Also an added bonus is fresh squeezed orange juice.

 

I see your point, but in drivers defense the big chains price gouge the hell out of drivers. It then creates a vicious cycle of drivers refusing to purchase anything (no $16-$18 shower purchases, no $7 for a small cup of fruit purchases, etc etc) and the big chains continuously jacking up their prices because drivers keep buying less and less due to the insane price gouging.

I never feel like I'm getting fleeced at Kwik Trip. I'll gladly pay $8 for a clean shower every time
I go there. Most drivers stop there specifically to shop for groceries that are reasonably priced as well. It baffles me why the big chains think price gouging makes them more money than being reasonably priced like Kwik Trip.

 

I agree with you. I've never been to a Kwik Trip so I can't comment on them so next trip out in the 5th wheel I'll be sure to stop so I can experience their hospitality.

 

One big difference is that kwik trip started and continues to be focused on 4 wheelers. Competitively priced groceries make the kwik trip an easy stop on the way - guy wants coffee and doughnut on the way to work, and while he's there he'll fill the tank. They can break even on the coffee and doughnuts if it drives enough people to the pumps.

Secondly, they have a very dense network of stores which makes supplying them with fresh goods very easy and cheap. On my 20 mile drive to work there are 7 kwik trips - two of which have diesel pumps, none have truck parking or showers. That brings up the next point- the focus isn't in being a truck stop, it's about getting fuel sales. Having a few stores with truck parking introduces drivers to the wonders of a KT and it's more likely that trucks will make short stops at the stores that don't have truck parking.

 

Plus KT runs all their own stuff. No need for a bread vendor because they have a bakery. No need for a dairy vendor because they run their own dairy operation. And like you said, there’s a ton of them in a small area so they probably get deliveries to each station every couple days.

 

Right. They've only just now begun expanding into South Dakota (which desperately needed it). But the point is that Kwik Trip/Star intends to stay it's own little niche regional operation. It knows it's strengths and stays within its own playbook.

Used to look forward to the fresh stuff overnighting at Kwik Trips in the upper midwest...