Love's Travel Stops is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a robust 2024 agenda. The retailer will add 20-25 new locations, update 35-40 aging stores and completely rebuild four stores. This, along with added food and restaurant options and services like RV hookups and truck washes, adds reasons for customers to choose Love's during its 60th year and beyond, Love's said in a statement.
Shane Wharton, the president of Love's, spoke with media Wednesday. He celebrated the fact that Love's remains a family company. Greg and Frank Love are co-CEOs, while Jenny Love Meyer serves as chief culture officer and EVP.
Wharton also pointed to the recognition the company earned in 2023 from Indeed as the No. 1 employer for employee well-being. “This wasn't something we applied for,” Wharton said. “Indeed did this on their own, surveying and talking to our employees, and through that process we ended up No. 1. So we feel really good about that.”
Among the company's focal points going forward, Love's aims to better serve truckers by serving as a “one stop shop” for all their needs. The company will double its truck wash network by adding seven new locations in 2024. Wharton touted the acquisition of TVC Pro-Driver in 2023, which provides a subscription-based commercial driver's license (CDL) protection service to drivers, and the company's continued interest in expanding its reach in terms of freight factoring.
Love's will also continue to add services to support professional drivers. Love's Financial will provide drivers with more bundled service options. Also, the addition of TVC Pro-Driver in 2023 provides a subscription-based commercial driver's license (CDL) protection service to drivers, a new offering for Love's and its customers.
In addition, Freightliner ExpressPoint is now available at over 400 Love's truck care locations, providing light mechanical warranty repair work for Freightliner trucks through Love's partnership with Daimler Truck North America.
In 2024, the company will also add 10 new full-service Speedco locations next to travel stops, 50 maintenance bays and approximately 60 emergency roadside vehicles to its network. The company is renewing its focus on customer service by expanding training opportunities through Love's Truck Care Academy and in-shop learning events.
RVers are also a target audience for Love's in 2024. This year, the company will bring the amenity to 44 more locations, ending the year with 1,500 hookups at 98 locations.
Through awards from the Federal Highway Administration's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, Trillium Energy Solutions plans to add to Love's national electric vehicle (EV) network by adding chargers to 29 Love's locations this year.
Inside the store, Love's is growing its Fresh Kitchen concept, in which customers can see fresh food prepared onsite, as a result of feedback from customers on offering fresh, healthier and diet-specific food options. Additions to this line include a new omelet bowl, upgraded snack trays and elevated mac and cheese bowls.
The company is also a top 10 restaurant operator in the United States and will add 20 restaurants to its network this year. At new locations, the company will continue to work with QSR partners Subway, Arby's and Hardee's/Carl's Jr.