Love's Will Set Up Shop in Montana in 2017

OKLAHOMA CITY — Not only does Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores continue to expand its store count, it is now expanding its presence to a new state: Montana.

The Oklahoma City-based travel stop company will kick off the new year with a new 10,000-square-foot Love's Travel Stop in Hardin, Mont. The travel stop will open at Exit 495 on Interstate 90, according to the Billings Gazette.

The complex will also have an adjoining Hardee's restaurant, Love's spokeswoman Kealey Dorian told the news outlet. 

"We like to locate in places where we can serve a good mix of professional drivers, as well as motorists," she said.

The truck stop will sit on 11 acres. Average building costs for a store are $11 million, Dorian added.

The new store will have roughly 40 employees, 68 parking spaces for trucks, 12 gas pumps for motorists and five pumps for professional drivers. The convenience store will have food, drinks and other items for travel. Electronic items will also be sold to serve as a "one-stop shop" for professional drivers, Dorian explained to the news outlet.

To date, Love's has more than 390 locations in 40 states.