BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Love’s Travel Stops and Chester’s Chicken have teamed up to say thank you to truck drivers through a “Truckersgiving” celebration ahead of Thanksgiving. This Thursday, Chester’s and Love’s will celebrate truckers by inviting them in for a pit stop to receive a specially designed trucker hat and free side of Chester’s new mac and cheese.

To participate, truckers can stop by any Chester’s within a Love’s location during operating hours on Nov. 18 and show their commercial driver’s license to receive one of over 2,000 trucker hats and a free side of Chester’s new mac and cheese. The mac and cheese along with two additional new homestyle sides, mashed potatoes with roasted chicken gravy and green beans, are part of Chester’s continued brand refresh.

Within Love’s more than 560 locations in 41 states, there are over 140 Chester’s restaurants—and more opening every week. According to Love’s, the week prior to Thanksgiving is busier with truck traffic than Thanksgiving week, making it the ideal time to treat these drivers.

“Love’s enjoys any reason to celebrate professional truck drivers, and Truckersgiving is a fun and festive way to do that,” said Joe Cotton, vice president of restaurant services, Love’s. “We know drivers enjoy Chester’s Chicken, so this is a great way to say thank you to truck drivers during the holidays.”

“Truck drivers are more essential than ever due to the challenges brought on by the global pandemic. We rely on them to deliver critical goods—fuel, food, medicine, vaccines, etc.—that we’ve become so accustomed to in our daily lives,” said William Culpepper, vice president of marketing, Chester's Chicken.

“When the supply chain was disrupted, truckers and the important work they perform were rightfully applauded. We established what we hope to become an annual holiday, Truckersgiving, to praise and thank truck drivers for all they do, including the acknowledgement that many are away from their families during the holiday season.”