BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Gas stations & convenience stores (AM/PM, 7-Eleven, etc.)
storewanderer
Posts: 14379
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by storewanderer »

Super S wrote: February 21st, 2023, 10:16 pm

A couple years ago I stopped at the TA travel center in Boise, and was kinda surprised that the restaurant didn't even open until 9AM. Maybe this was due to a lack of staffing due to COVID, I am not sure.

That Boise location actually has a long history as a truck stop...was originally Grant's, then Burns Brothers took over in the 1980s. They have always had a restaurant in some form there.
TA Troutdale, OR was also a Burns Bros. TA Mill City, NV was also a Burns Bros. The TA Sparks, NV was originally a 76 Truck Stop (Tosco owned some truck stops, went down in flames).

There was also a small Burns Bros. in Rye Patch (Lovelock), NV. This site had TA branding for a very short time... then TA dumped the site off and whoever took over seemed to have no money for signs and the place looked abandoned for years but was open. Eventually Chevron put branding on the site and it has been spiffed up a little.

Those two TA in Mill City and Rye Patch had Arco gasoline but they did not have pay at the pump and were a real pain to deal with for a car fuel purchase. Mill City got pay at the pump in probably 2010.

I recall also going to TA Troutdale at some point around 2008 and it also did not have pay at the pump (this was in OR where gas was full serve) and you had to take a slip inside where they ran your credit card (they had 3 different terminals to process the transaction- a cash register, a credit card machine, and a separate machine that controlled the gas pump) then after you paid they stapled one of the receipts to the slip and you presented that to the attendant outside who pumped your fuel. They refused to turn the pump on for a "fill up" and said they'd refund whatever you didn't pump in cash (violation of the credit card network rules but whatever) but of course you had to go back inside for that.

TA at some point around 2010-2012 got rid of their General Managers to save money and things started to get real interesting. Not long after that they realized there needed to be a way to handle complaints. Evidently they had no money for a customer service department either. So they were for a while printing the phone number to the "DM" on all receipts to contact with complaints and it was literally the cell phone number of the District Manager. And those calls were always answered immediately. This is when you know a company has serious operational problems but really wants to own up to the problems.

TA has definitely improved over the years... they are a lot better in recent years.
buckguy
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1004
Joined: January 31st, 2017, 10:54 am
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by buckguy »

Ironically, BP owned them a long time ago—when they controlled but didn’t completely own Standard of Ohio aka SOHIO.
storewanderer
Posts: 14379
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by storewanderer »

buckguy wrote: February 22nd, 2023, 8:12 pm Ironically, BP owned them a long time ago—when they controlled but didn’t completely own Standard of Ohio aka SOHIO.
My expectation is BP will throw quite a bit of money into improving TA. At least, I hope that is what they will do.

But I don't think BP has done much with Thornton's yet. I don't think they have BP branding either.
User avatar
retailfanmitchell019
Assistant Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Posts: 891
Joined: November 10th, 2019, 11:17 am
Location: 760 area code
Has thanked: 39 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

In Ontario, CA, there is a TA across the street from a Petro. That Petro was previously a TA. Yes, TA had two truck stops, same name, across the street from each other.
storewanderer
Posts: 14379
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by storewanderer »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: February 23rd, 2023, 9:30 pm In Ontario, CA, there is a TA across the street from a Petro. That Petro was previously a TA. Yes, TA had two truck stops, same name, across the street from each other.
One of the Ontario sites is a former Tosco/76 site. Whichever is the oldest/most outdated site.

Not sure about the other site or how they ended up with it.

There is enough business in the area for both.
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote: February 21st, 2023, 11:42 pm
Super S wrote: February 21st, 2023, 10:16 pm

A couple years ago I stopped at the TA travel center in Boise, and was kinda surprised that the restaurant didn't even open until 9AM. Maybe this was due to a lack of staffing due to COVID, I am not sure.

That Boise location actually has a long history as a truck stop...was originally Grant's, then Burns Brothers took over in the 1980s. They have always had a restaurant in some form there.
TA Troutdale, OR was also a Burns Bros. TA Mill City, NV was also a Burns Bros. The TA Sparks, NV was originally a 76 Truck Stop (Tosco owned some truck stops, went down in flames).

There was also a small Burns Bros. in Rye Patch (Lovelock), NV. This site had TA branding for a very short time... then TA dumped the site off and whoever took over seemed to have no money for signs and the place looked abandoned for years but was open. Eventually Chevron put branding on the site and it has been spiffed up a little.

Those two TA in Mill City and Rye Patch had Arco gasoline but they did not have pay at the pump and were a real pain to deal with for a car fuel purchase. Mill City got pay at the pump in probably 2010.

I recall also going to TA Troutdale at some point around 2008 and it also did not have pay at the pump (this was in OR where gas was full serve) and you had to take a slip inside where they ran your credit card (they had 3 different terminals to process the transaction- a cash register, a credit card machine, and a separate machine that controlled the gas pump) then after you paid they stapled one of the receipts to the slip and you presented that to the attendant outside who pumped your fuel. They refused to turn the pump on for a "fill up" and said they'd refund whatever you didn't pump in cash (violation of the credit card network rules but whatever) but of course you had to go back inside for that.

TA at some point around 2010-2012 got rid of their General Managers to save money and things started to get real interesting. Not long after that they realized there needed to be a way to handle complaints. Evidently they had no money for a customer service department either. So they were for a while printing the phone number to the "DM" on all receipts to contact with complaints and it was literally the cell phone number of the District Manager. And those calls were always answered immediately. This is when you know a company has serious operational problems but really wants to own up to the problems.

TA has definitely improved over the years... they are a lot better in recent years.
Burns Bros. seemed to run a good operation. My experiences with TA have been hit or miss, and those facilities seemed to be a bit neglected at times. Going back to that Boise location...it was popular with truckers and locals alike and the restaurant was always open early, if not 24 hours. TA seemed a bit out of touch with their restaurants.
storewanderer
Posts: 14379
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by storewanderer »

Super S wrote: February 24th, 2023, 8:13 am

Burns Bros. seemed to run a good operation. My experiences with TA have been hit or miss, and those facilities seemed to be a bit neglected at times. Going back to that Boise location...it was popular with truckers and locals alike and the restaurant was always open early, if not 24 hours. TA seemed a bit out of touch with their restaurants.
After Pilot bought Flying J and closed all of the restaurants or subleased them to tenants who opened mostly Dennys units, TA was the last truck stop network left with company operated restaurants. TA has played around with various concepts. They had a concept called Quaker Steak that I think they opened some units away from truck stops, but not sure what the status of that is. Restaurant profitability in truck stop restaurants is difficult. The truck drivers are typically a single customer, not groups. They linger inside the restaurant for a long time because it is nicer in the restaurant than it is back in their truck. They are somewhat price sensitive and want a hearty meat and potato type of meal. What I noticed was TA kept its restaurant prices somewhat moderate, yet if they have a fast food concept, the pricing at the fast food concept is 50%+ higher than that concept would be elsewhere. I think they get better margins out of fast food and it is a lot cheaper to run even on low volumes (only captive customers like truck drivers would buy fast food at a TA site). Pilot prices its franchise fast food competitively and gets many car customers.

Over the years TA's financial condition has been very sensitive and the restaurants have been an operation that lost a lot of money. This is why service has been inconsistent over the years. I give them credit for even keeping (some) of the restaurants open at all and not closing them all or converting them all to fast food.

Many truck drivers do not necessarily get to pick what truck stop they stop at and sleep. They often have to stop at the point they hit their hours mark on their route; they may have an intended stop but any delays and they may have to stop somewhere else. Many truckers hate the fast food format truck stops and much prefer stops with a sit down restaurant.
BillyGr
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1579
Joined: October 5th, 2010, 7:33 pm
Been thanked: 58 times
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by BillyGr »

storewanderer wrote: February 24th, 2023, 9:44 pm After Pilot bought Flying J and closed all of the restaurants or subleased them to tenants who opened mostly Dennys units, TA was the last truck stop network left with company operated restaurants. TA has played around with various concepts. They had a concept called Quaker Steak that I think they opened some units away from truck stops, but not sure what the status of that is.
Quaker Steak (and Lube) was an existing restaurant chain from (not surprisingly) Pennsylvania (being both an early state in the oil business and of course the Quaker STATE branding that was used in selling it).

Thus, there were many of them in existence before TA got involved (though they had closed some like so many of those type of chains have).
pseudo3d
Posts: 3851
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 7:01 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 77 times
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by pseudo3d »

BillyGr wrote: February 25th, 2023, 11:26 am
storewanderer wrote: February 24th, 2023, 9:44 pm After Pilot bought Flying J and closed all of the restaurants or subleased them to tenants who opened mostly Dennys units, TA was the last truck stop network left with company operated restaurants. TA has played around with various concepts. They had a concept called Quaker Steak that I think they opened some units away from truck stops, but not sure what the status of that is.
Quaker Steak (and Lube) was an existing restaurant chain from (not surprisingly) Pennsylvania (being both an early state in the oil business and of course the Quaker STATE branding that was used in selling it).

Thus, there were many of them in existence before TA got involved (though they had closed some like so many of those type of chains have).
Quaker Steak & Lube opened a few locations in Texas in the early 2010s, they sold wings and burgers, but they never really got more than 3-4 locations. TA acquired them in 2015 after Quaker Steak went bankrupt (all the Texas stores closed by this time) but that was obviously a bad choice--they weren't good fits for truck stops, they weren't a hot growth model, and they needed new leadership & investment to right the ship, which I don't think TA was willing to give them.
storewanderer
Posts: 14379
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: BP Buys Travel Centers of America

Post by storewanderer »

I see TA sold the 41 location Quaker Steak in 2021 for $5 million.

In April 2016, TA acquired 50 location Quaker Steak for $25 million.

That seems to imply Quaker Steak was more distressed when TA sold it in 2021, than when TA bought it in 2016. And I think it was already distressed in 2016.
Post Reply