Dive Brief:
- Stinker Stores has opened a 10,000-square-foot travel center in Caldwell, Idaho — its largest convenience store to date, a company spokesperson confirmed.
- The travel center is located off I-84 and Black Canyon Road, about 41 miles northwest of downtown Boise. It officially opened to the public on Sept. 5, Stinker’s spokesperson said.
- Stinker’s biggest site yet underscores the growing appetite among both national and regional c-store chains for building and remodeling larger stores.
Dive Insight:
Stinkers’ spokesperson said the new travel plaza has “many added features and services” compared to a standard location.
While it’s unclear what features are new, the travel center includes Stinkers’ Pete’s Eats foodservice program, as well as a dining room with several booths and tables where consumers can eat. The Pete’s Eats program offers made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, pepperoni and sausage pizzas, cheeseburgers and beef and pork burritos.
Outside the store, consumers can find a picnic area where dogs can be walked, as well as a fenced-in, off-leash dog run. The forecourt offers Sinclair-branded fuel, as do many other Stinker sites.
The travel plaza is the first major truckstop drivers will find when crossing into Idaho from Oregon, as well as the last one they’ll see when heading west out of Idaho, Stinker’s spokesperson said.
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. Retailers like QuikTrip and RaceTrac have built two-story c-stores, while Rutter’s and Weigel’s have significantly increased the square footage of some of their traditional sites.
Boise, Idaho-based Stinker Stores has more than 100 locations in Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming. The Stinker family of companies also includes Arrowrock Supply — a grocery and tobacco wholesaler — and trucking company Westpoint Transportation.
