What You Missed in the Biz Brief This Week: April 2, 2014

Four NATSO Members on Top 10 List and more...
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In today’s information-overloaded business world, we often find ourselves deluged with literally hundreds of news items from dozens of sources. While it is likely impossible to read every article and remain productive, by not doing so we risk missing the one article that could change a key business practice or thought process. And that is where the NATSO Foundation’s newest publication, Biz Brief, provides assistance! The NATSO Foundation's Biz Brief is a daily collection of the most relevant business intelligence for truckstop and travel plaza operators. 

While we think the Biz Brief is a must-read every day, if you only read ten news articles this week, these ten most-clicked Biz Brief articles are the ten to read. 

  1. Four NATSO Members on Top 10 List 
    NATSO members Love's Travel Stops, Pilot Travel Centers, Sheetz and Thorntons have been named to The Daily Meal's Top 10 Convenience Stores list. Pilot and Love's ranked among the top three. "These billion-dollar c-stores make their money by making peoples' lives easier," said a report developed by The Daily Meal. Click here to read more >

  2. Love's Adds Tire Lines 
    Love's Travel Stops has added the Goodyear and Continental tire brands to its new tire menu. Love's Truck Tire Care Centers also offer Bridgestone, Firestone, Aeolus, Michelin, Michelin Retreat Technologies, BF Goodrich and Yokohama. Love's currently operates more than 180 truck tire centers, 70 of which provide light mechanical repair services. The company has embarked on a reinvestment plan that will add warehouse space to many of its truck tire center locations. Click here to read more >

  3. Industry Mourns Passing of Ray Rowan 
    The truckstop and travel plaza industry is mourning the passing of Ray Rowan, President and Chief Executive Officer of PRS Inc. Rowan died March 24 at the age of 77 after a brief illness. A Funeral Mass will be held Thursday, March 27 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Hastings, Minn. Click here to read more >

  4. Ghosts at the Truckstop 
    The Tri-County Truckstop in Villa Ridge, Mo., will be the site of a ghost hunt led by the Paranormal Task Force. The travel center originally opened in the early 1900's as a fruit stand along Route 66. The site became The Diamond Restaurant, which was a well-known Route 66 landmark that was visited by tragedy on more than one occasion. The current facility was rebuilt in the 1950's following a fire that destroyed the original building. The truckstop has previously been featured on other paranormal shows and in books exploring the subject. Click here to read more >

  5. Dunkin' Donuts Offers New Opportunities 
    Dunkin' Brands Group is seeking to expand its presence in new non-traditional businesses, such as travel centers and convenience stores. The company has added 12 such units in 2014, bringing its total number of non-traditional stores to 600. Locations opened this year include a Pilot Travel Center in Des Moines, Iowa, and a WilcoHess site in Madison Heights, Va. Dunkin' offers three layouts ranging from a full menu location to a smaller "cart" with a limited menu selection. Click here to read more >

  6. TA Opens Arizona Service Center 
    TravelCenters of America has opened a TA Truck Service Center on Interstate 40 in Holbrook, Ariz. The four-bay truck repair facility is equipped with back-up generator power and will offer Freightliner ServicePoint features later this year. This is the 236th service center in the TA/Petro chain. Click here to read more >

  7. Travel Center Operator Makes Case Against Tolls 
    Tolling existing interstates should not be part of the Congressional debate on funding solutions for national transportation needs, NATSO member Rex Davis, president of Melvin L. Davis oil, said in an editorial that appeared in the Washington Examiner. Tolls are inefficient, push interstate traffic to local roads, and raise costs for consumer goods while slowing shipment times. Davis, who is a member of the Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates, expressed similar viewpoints in a recent radio interview on Sirius XM. Click here to read more >

  8. Illinois Senate Panel Oks Truckstop Gaming Bill 
    A bill that would allow truckstops in Illinois to have twice as many video gaming machines as other establishments passed its first test. A Senate panel voted in favor of S.B. 3144 9-2. Current law allows travel centers to operate five machines. The sponsor thinks that it will not adversely affect other gaming establishments in the state as drivers are unlikely to frequent larger casinos. Click here to read more >

  9. TA Introduces New Rewards 
    TravelCenters of America announced a new "Diesel Dollars" reward program. "Diesel Dollars" will provide rewards to customers purchasing non-discounted fuel and could amount to $1,000 in awards per year for a driver. The loyalty plan will be available to TA and Petro customers at the company's 249 locations. Click here to read more >

  10. Restaurant Chain Installs 100,000 Tabletop Tablets 
    Two of the nation's largest restaurant chains are installing more than 100,000 tabletop tablets each in their dining rooms. Chili's plans to install 100,000 Ziosk tabletop devices in 800 of its locations. Applebee's also announced that it will install the tablets at all 100,000 tables in its chain by the end of 2014. The tablets will not replace menus or servers, but rather enhance the customer's experience by allowing them to read articles, re-order beverages and pay their bill. Click here to read more >

     

I might be biased, but I think if you aren't receiving Biz Brief, you are missing out! Not a subscriber? Be sure to submit a request to be added to the email list. Already receive it and have feedback for me? Be sure to email me at editor@natso.com.

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