Dive Brief:
- East Coast convenience retailer Onvo has opened a 9,961-square-foot travel center in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, — its largest location to date — the company announced this week.
- The travel center features Onvo’s made-to-order foodservice program, Food on the Fly, which the company debuted earlier this year, in addition to an adjacent Burger King. The site will include a hotel — a first for an Onvo travel center — that will open in 2025, the company said.
- Onvo’s latest location is yet another example of the c-store industry’s growing appetite for building and remodeling larger stores.
Dive Insight:
While popular travel center chains like Buc-ee’s and Wally’s have always been known for their supersized convenience stores, some standard c-store retailers have begun building bigger formats. National retailers like QuikTrip and RaceTrac have built two-story c-stores, while regional players such as Rutter’s, Weigel’s and Stinker Stores have all opened their largest stores to date in the past year.
As it looks to make its largest location to-date a one-stop shop, Onvo’s new location has several amenities, including three showers, laundry facilities and 36 truck parking spots — with 80 more on the way — as well as 10 gas-fueling lanes, six high-flow diesel pumps. It also has a dog park, and will have four fast-charging electric vehicle locations next year.
Foodservice nonetheless remains the travel center’s focus. The Food on the Fly program features Onvo’s signature Craveritos burritos, as well as bowls and quesadillas. The travel center will also offer a new line of handcrafted coffee, espresso and lattes.
"We've worked hard to develop a food program to provide travelers more choice when they're on the road," Sonny Singh, co-founder of Onvo, said in the announcement.
Onvo’s largest location to date will create 75 new jobs, the company said.
Founded in 1988, Mountain Top, Pennsylvania-based Onvo operates 40 travel stops and gas stations across Pennsylvania and New York. It also has 24 quick-service and full-service restaurants, as well as six hotels in its network.
