Travel Centers of America is failing and will declare bankruptcy within five years.

Remember when TA was the first to have the new marble showers. That was a big deal 10+ years ago. If they took down lots of the reserved parking or lowerd the price to something like $5 they might get more drivers to go in the stores and buy stuff

 

I can agree with this. About the only good TA that I could recommend is the Morris, Illinois location simply because of R-place restaurant.

 

One thing I was surprised to learn about TA is just how little of the properties they own actually started out as their own. Not counting the Petro locations, the majority of them are old Burns Brothers, Travelports, Borons, Rip Griffin's, or Pure/Union 76's. So in my opinion, it's the old infrastructure that is not being updated, combined with a lack of financial success that is killing them.

 

Petro also seems to have larger, more well-lit locations than most. In fact, of the top 25 largest truck stops in the USA by parking spaces, 14 of them are Petro-owned. TA only has 7 or 8.

 

Clearwater and Albert Lea are independents that only fly the Petro flag, as far as I know. Maybe that's why they are cleaner and better managed. The owners actually know what they are doing. Plus, the Midwest has more good truck stops than the rest of the countrt, it seems.

 

Kwik Trip/Kwik Star did make one large error in their past history. They got rid of the Hearty Platter restaurants in Dakota, Minnesota; Tomah, Wisconsin; and Brooklyn, Iowa to make room for Denny's! I hate Denny's!

 

They're switching to IHOP? Blahhh.....thanks for the heads-up, my friend. It looks like Iron Skillet will be the last good full-service chain standing. I have never been in any Country Pride that impressed me except one: the one in my hometown of Denver, Colorado.

 

Yep, they are a combination of the old stops, the above mentioned were some good stops in the day.

 

I agree Denny’s suck

 

Just imagine how bad parking would be out here if TA did go under. It would be pretty bad...

Look at Iowa 80 for example. If that was shut down where would the 700-800 trucks that park there every night go?

My guess would be some type of investment group would buy certain locations, Walcott would definitely be one of them. That place is a tourist trap, they've got to be raking in some cash there not just from truckers but the family's that stop in.