Wally’s will open a new store in Whitestown, Indiana, in the greater Indianapolis area—the first in the state for Wally’s. Groundbreaking is scheduled for August 16.
According to the Indianapolis Star, the new location will be a 45,000-square-foot center, with over 80 fueling and EV charging stations on 14 acres of land. The location is roughly 24 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis.
The new location is expected to open in the fall of 2025. Originally the Whitestown travel center had been expected to open in late 2024, according to the Star.
Currently, Wally’s has two locations, one in Pontiac, Illinois, and the other in Fenton, Missouri. Wally’s is also working on opening a new location in Kansas City.
Wally’s spoke with NACS Daily when it acquired the land for the Kansas City location: “It’s a site we’ve been working on for almost three years, and we’re super excited about it,” Wally’s President and CEO Michael Rubenstein said. “We’re looking for that perfect sweet spot, a location that has a high traffic count, great visibility and easy access. This site really checks all of those boxes.”
“Our most recent stores have been a little more metro than our first location in Pontiac, Illinois, which is more of a road trip destination. Our metro locations have that same component but there’s more commuter traffic as well,” Rubenstein said. “Being in a Midwestern or northern market, you’re going to have four months that are lower traffic, and you’re going to have two months with really low traffic. That’s why a lot of what we’re doing is closer to metro locations because even in colder months, people are still driving to and from work.”
Wally’s was founded by Rubenstein and his cousin Chad Wallis, chairman, in 2019. They immediately agreed on one thing—their new convenience store concept needed to have lots of space.
“We wanted to create a destination and an experience for people to stop, and that meant we needed to expand beyond the usual 3,000 to 5,000 square feet of a typical interstate gas station,” Rubenstein told NACS Magazine in 2023. “Our ideas put guests at the forefront, and we designed an inviting, open space with a glass storefront to create the right guest experience.”
Wally’s, which deems itself “Home of the Great American Road Trip,” features food novelties such as Wally’s features carving stations, Wally’s branded beef jerky and popcorn stations, and Wally’s branded t-shirts and gift items.
Last year, Wally's was featured in NACS' Ideas 2 Go video series. Check out why the retailer has dubbed itself the Home of the Great American Road Trip.