Knoxville, TN-based Pilot Company, one the largest operators of travel centers in North America, is undertaking a $1B modernization of 130 centers in 28 states this year.
The remodeling effort, which the company has branded as New Horizons, aims to upgrade the experience at the centers and equip the stores for what the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary is calling "the future of travel."
Pilot also plans to at least 12 new travel centers and add more than 20 dealer locations to its network this year, Chain Store Age reported.
Pilot has the third-largest tanker truck fleet in North America, with more than 1,500 trucks delivering an estimated 14 billion gallons of fuel each year as well as providing hauling and disposal services to the oil sector.
Pilot's travel center network, which operate under the Pilot and Flying J brands, spans 750 locations in 44 states and six Canadian provinces. The centers serve the commercial trucking industry with more than 790 restaurants, 77K truck parking spaces, 5,500 "deluxe" showers and 6,300 diesel lanes, CSA said.
Truck maintenance and tire service are provided by Southern Tire Mart at Pilot Flying J.
Pilot's network expansion includes two new travel centers that recently opened in Odessa, TX and Rialto, CA, encompassing a total of 600 new commercial truck parking spaces.
The battle for hegemony in the highway convenience store and travel centers sector has intensified this year.
In February, BP, the British oil giant, has announced it acquisition of TravelCenters of America (TA) for $1.3B in a cash deal. The deal included 281 highway locations in 44 states operating under the TA, Petro Shopping Centers and TA Express brands.
TA's locations include more than 600 full-service and quick-service restaurants as well as gas stations and repair shops for cars and trucks. Each location averages encompasses about 25 acres. TA has been upgrading its outlets across the US, installing EV charging units at 200 US locations.
BP, which operates an estimated 8,000 off-highway locations globally, said the acquisition of TA will enable it to offer truck fleets and other vehicles "seamless nationwide service" in the US. Prior to acquiring TA, BP operated about 2,000 North American gas station convenience stores under the BP, Amoco, Thornton's and ampm brands.
The British oil giant said it is aiming to expand the portfolio to 3,000 stores by 2030. Last summer, the company opened its first East Coast location for its ampm brand in NYC, one of four East Coast openings for the chain in 2022.
The number of convenience stores operating in the US, now totaling more than 150,000, increased for the first time in four years in 2022, according to the 2023 NACS store count, GlobeSt. reported. A majority of US convenience stores are owned by single-store operators.
Nearly 80% of these stores, about 119K, are paired with gas stations, according to the annual survey. Texas leads in convenience stores, with more than one in 10 stores in the US located in the Lone Star State.
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