COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Midway Auto Truck Plaza , at Exit 121 off of Interstate 70 in Columbia, Mo., will be featured in the Travel Channel's upcoming reality series Truck Stop Missouri, set to debut July 27 and expected to run 13 episodes, according to The Columbia Daily Tribune.
The program has been in the works since November when Joe Bechtold, general manager of the Midway complex, first got a call from Leftfield Pictures, the production company behind Pawn Stars, letting him know they were looking for the "most unique" independently owned truckstop [image-nocss] in America. Bechtold remembers telling the person that Midway wasn't that place. But Midway offers a hotel, tattoo parlor, boot shop, antique mall, fireworks stand and haunted house. Those establishments in the Midway complex along with the fact the business is family-owned and located in the heartland, attracted Leftfield's attention.
"It was a combination of those things that brought us [to Midway]," Stone Roberts, executive producer for the Travel Channel, told the newspaper.
Film crews have been at Midway since January interviewing locals and showcasing events that make Midway unique. Among scenes caught on film that could air on national television are bikini-clad girls washing cars as a fundraiser, a cowboy-themed church service and a game of cow patty bingo.
Crews might also film at the Willie Nelson concert June 10 at the Midway Expo Center, although Roberts said he is not at liberty to confirm that. "It's on our radar," he said.
There will be plenty of "day-in-the-life-of" truckstop scenes, too, Bechtold said.
"It's made everything really fun," he said, adding that even the most "mundane" things are captured on film in a fun light. "It's been massively exciting for my employees and regulars."
Those filmed have been asked to keep mum about the project, but it has been a not-so-well-kept secret, said the report. Locals have noticed the cameramen and have been buzzing about it through social network sites and around town.
Bechtold is the star of the show, the report added. "Joe is the core of that family business, the core of the show and really the core of that facility," Roberts said. "He's done a wonderful job, and, so far, we see no reason why that won't continue to be the case."
Roberts also insisted the scenes will be authentic. "There's such a wide variety of characters and stories that pass through Midway on a daily--if not hourly--basis," he told the paper. "It's not hard to find a wide variety of good stories to tell, and they all present themselves to us organically. We're there to mold them into wonderful stories and share them with the world."
Bechtold seems modest about the whole thing but said he's excited about the program bringing national attention to Midway. "I hope it puts us on the map," he told the Tribune.
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