GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Pilot Flying J has acquired a truckstop in Grand Forks, N.D., CSP Daily News reported earlier this week. The Spicer family, which owned the Big Sioux Travel Plaza, will continue to lease and operate the truckstop's Big Sioux Cafe, reported the Grand Forks Herald.
(See Related Content below for previous coverage.)
Besides the Grand Forks acquisition, Pilot Flying J has announced new locations in Miami and Haines City, Fla., Dunn, N.C., Morgantown, W.Va., and El Paso, Texas, according to the company's website.
The sale brings to a close the use of the Big Sioux name dating back a quarter century, said the report. But the name, and the carved wooden chiefs inside and out, will remain in a smaller way.
"We actually are going to keep the Big Sioux name, because it will [still] be the Big Sioux Cafe," Brad Spicer, president of Spicer Inc., told the newspaper "We are going to lease that back for five years."
Other than the restaurant, his family won't be involved in the truckstop's operation. Spicer Trucking, also based at the same site, will be located elsewhere in town but will continue operating, Spicer said.
Brad and his brothers, Bruce, Mark and Cliff, built the truckstop, convenience store and restaurant in 1994. It opened in April 1995..
Spicer said he bought the first carved wooden Indian chief that sat outside the company's first store in 1984 and the second in 1994 for the new plaza.
"They were made in Wisconsin by the Chippewa tribe, and we bought them right outside of the Dells," he said.
But the Pilot Flying J name will be first on the marquee.
Terms of the sale weren't announced. But the 8.92 acres of parking lot and building were assessed at about $3.8 million in "true and full value" by the city this year, the report said.
According to the sale information advertised by Coldwell Banker Commercial in Fargo, N.D., which listed the property for $6.8 million, the Big Sioux sold 4.1 million gallons of diesel fuel and nearly 1 million gallons of gasoline in 2009. The restaurant, open 24/7, did $2.1 million in sales that year, or nearly $6,000 a day.
Pilot Flying J said it will renovate the center, adding eight diesel fueling stations and two RV fueling islands to the current eight islands, which include four diesel islands.
"It was a deal we couldn't refuse," Spicer said. "But we are a family operation, which makes it even tougher to part ways because we enjoyed being in the business. The petroleum business is changing. Like everything else, it's becoming more of a corporate deal."
He added, "We definitely are going to miss it and we appreciate all the customers we have. Local business was a big part of our business, not like any other truckstop. We drew a lot of local business to the truckstop and cafe."
Pilot Flying J is based in Knoxville, Tenn., and has more than 550 retail locations across North America. Pilot Flying J is also one of the nation's largest wholesale fuel providers, delivering more than 500 million gallons of fuel to thousands of customers in 47 states and eight Canadian provinces. The company employs approximately 20,000 people and is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.