Pilot Co. Debuts New Quick-Service Food Concept

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Pilot Co. is spicing up its foodservice program.

The company debuted its new Tex-Mex deli concept, Burrito Junction, at its latest remodeled Pilot travel center in Corbin, Ky.

According to Pilot Co., its chef and food innovation team spent two years testing and fine-tuning the "make it your way" Burrito Junction menu before its launch in Corbin.

The new deli concept is open 24/7 to serve guests at all hours and features everything from customizable breakfast burritos in the morning to a full choice menu of burritos, tacos, bowls, and quesadillas that can be personalized with house-made guacamole, queso, salsa and an array of toppings.

"We strive to connect people and places," said Jamie King, senior director of food and beverage for Pilot Co. "Food is always a great way to connect with our guests and Burrito Junction is another way for us to do just that. Our guests are loving the fresh variety that this new concept brings, and we are exploring opportunities to expand it to additional locations while continuing to innovate our food offerings."

The Corbin location is also notable because it was the first Pilot travel center. As part of Pilot Co.'s New Horizon initiative, the historic travel center now features a modernized exterior and interior with remodeled restrooms. It also includes additional grab-and-go items and four new self-checkouts.

The Pilot travel center in Corbin was one of six the company recently remodeled under its $1 billion program.

The top-to-bottom remodels incorporate feedback from professional drivers and guests to add more fresh food options and upgrade the overall store experience. In addition to overhauling the exterior and interior of each location, the other five locations and their key improvements include:

• Bakersfield, Calif.: New kitchen for team member to prepare an expanded menu of fresh food, updated laundry facilities, and newly added quick-serve restaurant brands
• Battle Creek, Mich.: Newly added deli with grab-and-go options for made-in-house hot and cold foods, expanded beverage selection, and updated check-out area
• Cartersville, Ga.: Enhanced deli with grab-and-go options for hot and cold foods, expanded beverage selection, and fully remodeled Subway
• Phoenix: Upgraded deli with additional grab-and-go items, expanded beverage selection, and four new self-checkouts
• Staunton, Va.: New kitchen for team member to prepare an expanded menu of fresh food and grab-and-go cold items, expanded beverage selection, four new self-checkouts, and full remodeled Arby's

"With every store that we remodel, we take care to make improvements that will better serve our guests and team members now and into the future," said Allison Cornish, vice president of store modernization at Pilot Co. "It's amazing to see the transformations and to see the progress as we ramp up renovations at more travel centers across our network."

Pilot Co. is donating a combined $70,000 to the local school districts in these six communities to support of STEM, technology, and career development programs.

The company launched its three-year New Horizon initiative in March to overhaul hundreds of its travel centers across the country and improve the Pilot experience for customers and employees. In all, the project will include full remodels of more than 400 Pilot and Flying J locations and upgrades at several more locations as part of the company's largest investment in store modernization yet.

Pilot Co. opened the first four remodels under the program in June.

Knoxville-based Pilot Co. operates a network of more than 800 retail and fueling locations and supplies more than 14 billion gallons of fuel per year to the market. Pilot Co. has fourth largest tanker fleet with more than 1,600 trucks that supply diesel exhaust fluid, bio and renewable fuels, and provides hauling and disposal services to the oil field sector.

Its Pilot and Flying J travel center network includes more than 750 locations in 44 states and six Canadian provinces with more than 790 restaurants, 75,000 truck parking spaces, 5,300 deluxe showers, 6,200 diesel lanes and offers truck maintenance and tire service with Southern Tire Mart at Pilot Flying J. The One9 Fuel Network connects a variety of fueling locations to provide smaller fleets and independent professional drivers with everyday value, convenience, credit and perks.