What's In Store: Foxtrot, Love's Travel Stops & Royal Farms

Foxtrot

Foxtrot opened two new stores, one in Austin, Texas, and the other in Washington, D.C.

The Austin location, situated at 2270 Guadalupe Street on The Drag by the University of Texas at Austin, is the company's fourth in the city. The opening came on the heels of the debut of the company's city hall location in July.

The sixth D.C.-area site sits at 1341 14th NW in Logan Circle and officially opened to the public on Oct. 18.

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Foxtrot celebrated the openings of both locations with special events, in which visitors who paid via the Foxtrot mobile app received a free tote bag full of Foxtrot fan-favorites, in addition to $5 pours of the brand's house wines.

Foxtrot's latest additions join 29 other locations across Chicago, Washington, D.C., Dallas and Austin. The company plans to continue to expand in existing markets through the rest of this year.

Love's Travel Stops

Love's Travel Stops experienced a busy couple of months as the travel center operator expanded along multiple highways.

The chain first opened five new locations in: Tonopah and Jackpot, Nev.; Opelousas, La.; Cañon City, Colo.; and Cotulla, Texas. 

All five sites are open 24/7 and offer bean-to-cup gourmet coffee, brand-name snacks and Love's Mobile to Go Zone, along with RV parking spaces, diesel bays, showers and laundry facilities. 

The location in Tonopah at 1170 South Main Street also includes a Chester's Chicken and Godfather's Pizza, while the Jackpot location at Highway 93 and Progressive Drive includes a Subway restaurant.

The Opelousa site off Interstate 49 and Harry Guilbeau Road comes with a Hardee's and Godfather's Pizza, along with a Speedco truck service station. The Cañon City location off Four Mile Parkway and U.S. Highway 50 includes a Love's RV Stop with 125 RV parking spaces, and the Cotulla location off Interstate 35 includes a Speedco. Both of the latter sites also give customers access to an Arby's, while every location except Tonopah has CAT scales.

Overall, the five stores created 335 new jobs and 292 new truck parking spots for their communities.

In honor of the grand openings, Love's also donated $2,000 to each the Tonopah Volunteer Ambulance Association Inc., Jackpot's Helping Hands, the Park Vista Elementary School in Opelousas, the Canon City Police Department and Cotulla High School.

Love's also opened a new truck wash in Prescott, Ark. The wash is located next to a new Speedco, which will provide preventative maintenance, light mechanical repairs, tire services and roadside assistance for professional drivers. The Prescott location is Love's second truck wash in Arkansas, following one in Hazen, and the fourth overall for the company. 

Additionally, the operator continued its rebranding of former EZ Go stores, relaunching four Kansas sites under the Love's banner in El Dorado, Towanda, Lawrence and Belle Plaine. They join the five former EZ Go locations in Oklahoma the company converted earlier this year.

Royal Farms

Royal Farms opened its second location in Greenville, N.C., at 1604 SE Greenville Blvd. on Sept. 25.

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Located just minutes away from East Carolina University, the new store provides customers with the brand's "World-Famous Chicken," 16 fuel pumps — including an ethanol-free pump — and a car wash. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As part of the opening celebrations, Royal Farms held a ticketed soft opening event where customers could check out the new store and receive one free meal from the soft opening menu. The company also made a monetary donation to Greenville Recreation and Parks, which provides a variety of athletic, recreational, and arts and crafts activities for all ages and special populations. 

Royal Farms has plans to open several more North Carolina locations in Kinston, Lumberton and Wilson in the future.

Texas Born

Texas Born (TXB) opened two new locations in September in Texas, one in Bryan, and the other in Kyle. The locations hosted grand opening events on Sept. 19 and 20, respectively. 

The stores offer their communities a number of convenience staples, along with fresh-made food items and electric vehicle charging stations.

Headquartered in Spicewood, Texas, TXB is a family of restaurant-style convenience stores serving fresh-made food, such as hand-breaded chicken tenders and specialty, made-to-order tacos on tortillas pressed daily in-store. The company currently operates more than 48 locations across Texas and Oklahoma.

TravelCenters of America Inc. (TA)

TravelCenters of America opened a new TA Express in Fairview, Kan. Located on the corner of US-75 and West 1st Street, the new location is a franchised site which formerly operated as a Bert's Express. 

The store offers a range of fueling, convenience and dining options, including three diesel fueling positions with diesel exhaust fluid on all lanes, 12 gasoline fueling lanes, snacks, hot and cold beverages, and an on-site deli. Diners can also swing by the location's A&W Restaurant or the new Dunkin' when it opens.

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The site also features three private showers and laundry facilities.

The Fairview TA Express is the company's seventh location to open in Kansas, growing the total nationwide network of travel centers to 292.