TYLER, Texas -- Pilot Travel Centers plans to open a new retail site on 19.8 acres in Tyler, Texas, according to a report in the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
While details on the travel center were not available, Pilot Travels Centers, based in Knoxville, Tenn., caters to everyday motorists and professional drivers in 41 states, with more than 300 retail properties.
There are now 18 travel centers in Texas, all of them located along interstates. The centers are open 24 hours a day and have restaurants, showers, ATMs, game rooms, public pay phones and CAT scales among other services.[image-nocss]
When told the news of the Pilot's coming, Henry Bell, CEO of the Tyler Chamber of Commerce, said, "That's cool!"
Bell said Pilot must have done its homework before picking that spot. "I think it says their numbers show it's a pretty high traffic area," he said. "There's a lot of traffic that peels off of here and heads south. It's good to have that kind of thing. There's a lot of opportunity for people to stop and leave their money in Smith County."
Tyler is a small community about 100 miles east of Dallas along Interstate 20.
Pilot Travel Centers LLC is the nation's largest retail operator of Travel Centers, according to its website, catering to the professional driver and traveling motorist in 41 states with more than 300 retail interstate properties. Customers find nationally recognized fast-food restaurants serving hot meals 24/7, and many travel conveniences, such as showers, ATMs, Internet kiosks, check cashing, money orders, laundry, game rooms, public pay phones with data ports, audio book rentals, Western Union, pre-paid phone cards, and truck washes, truck service centers, and CAT Scales.
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