Dive Brief:
- Wally’s broke ground last week on its third travel center and largest store to date, President and CEO Michael Rubenstein confirmed on Thursday. This will be Wally’s first site in Indiana.
- The site, on Perry Worth Road in Whitestown, Indiana, will feature a 53,000-square-foot store, 84 fueling positions and about 300 parking spots, according to Rubenstein.
- Wally’s joins companies like Rutter’s and Wawa in building larger stores, enabling them to include more SKUs and on-site amenities.
Dive Insight:
Wally’s debuted in 2020 with a 29,600-square-foot store in Pontiac, Illinois, before opening a 36,000-square-foot site in Fenton, Missouri in 2022.
Wally’s was expected to break ground on the planned 45,000-square-foot Indiana store in 2023, Rubenstein said at the time. The groundbreaking did not happen until this year, and the store’s square footage got larger.
There were no specific causes of the construction delay, “other than getting the site and the access approved and getting the site and store perfected,” Rubenstein said.
At 56,000 square feet, the Indiana location will be nearly 50% larger than the Missouri store. Leadership sees the move to larger stores as a broader shift in the industry.
“The large-concept store with a lot of open space to move around is kind of the way the future is going,” Rubenstein said last year.
This site, just off Interstate 65 at the Route 267 exit, is about 21 miles northwest from downtown Indianapolis. The interchange already has a Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores location, and a GetGo Cafe + Market and Marathon gas station are also in the area.
The location is also expected to have about 20 electric vehicle charging positions and larger parking spots for vehicles like RVs or those towing boats, Rubenstein said.
Meanwhile, the c-store will feature what Rubenstein calls “interactive food stations,” including Wally’s Sandwich House, as well as popcorn, bakery and pizza setups.Wally’s stores are traditionally separated into multiple zones with areas for items like traditional c-store goods, fresh foods and Wally’s-branded merchandise.
