Food, or lack thereof

I place full blame upon the ever-growing number of drivers who eat out of their trucks every single night.

Truck stops cannot maintain full service restaurants when their primary customer base no longer makes use of them. Be it low pay or eating healthy, too many drivers use the parking lot without spending so much as a some within the truck stop itself.

If we continue to refuse to spend any money at the truck stop, they will eventually vanish off the landscape. We are we gonna park then?

 

That has started back in 2000 or so in our time. There was a then brand new TA built across from the Flying J on what I recall as 30 in Dallas east side near Lancaster. That one did not have a full service anything, just a walk in game room, walk in fast food and so on. The intent is clear at that time to us, drivers no longer welcome. But the money is...

We increased our frequency of sit down full service meals in certain older truckstops towards 2001 because we had a feeling that they too will go into history and be no more.

And yes there is alot of eating on the truck. When Wife and I was teamed, we carried 6 weeks food plus several cases of water and had need of nothing except a shower, laundry and fuel from time to time. Just a walmart in Laramie WY to spend a thousand dollars or so every other month etc to reprovision give or take a few hundred.

Even here at home where i am typing there is a certain amount of MRE's ready to go in one closet should it become necessary plus a alternate off grid means of cooking. That was a left over from trucking. Our Meats come from Omaha now by mail order from time to time.

What you are describing is a future here and now in the industry. So if you do find a truckstop such as Wolcott IA or Breezewood PA etc with full service, set a while and enjoy it. While you are able.

 

These truck stops are like service plazas on tollways. They know there are only so many places to eat so they charge more than other places. They've got us by the gonads.

Maybe if they lowered their prices the truckers would buy more and the truck stops would make more ...make more (overall) by charging less.

...except Sheetz, but I'm not sure if they consider themselves truck stops or not.

 

My favorite Mexican restaurants are open 24 hours. Many have truck parking also.

 

I don't really believe that. There are still some independents out there that charge a fair price that if they are lucky see maybe a third of the business of the chains. And I'm talking very obvious independents right off the interstate, not buried deep in the back woods country. Pilot and TA isn't killing them, we are by no longer making it profitable to stay in business.

Business follows the flow of money. Want the independents to stay? Give them a financial reason to do so.

 

Truck stops aren't going anywhere as long as diesel engines power them and the operators need food and drink.

They may evolve to keep up with different demands of those with the money but they will always be around. If some refuse to adapt and evolve and improve (lots, building, pumps, etc), they will go by the wayside as so many have.

If all they want to do is provide a lot full of potholes and nasty bathrooms and stale candy in the store, they will find the clientele they attract will never financially support improvements.

 

From my exp eating at truckstops its the poor quality of food poor staff and bad cooks that stopped me from eating at truck stops any longer.

 

Whatever happened to the "blue plate special"? Good food, promptly prepared, sensible portions, sensible price.

Have we largely became a customer base of insatiable pigs? Truck stop restaurants seemed to have made the decision to conform to the most gluttonous among us, and the others will just deal with it and get fat like some others, rather than making "Big Bubba" order more.

 

I remember about 15 yrs ago, there was a Petro somewhere between Indy and Cinci.. I went in there and there was a window (opening) between the counter and the kitchen. You could see the cooks ### crack as he was fixin food. He had his pants down a few inches.

I asked the Mgr about it and she said, he's the only person we have this late at night. Some people were laughing about it, but they ate there anyway ... not me.