“On constant alert to find ways to serve new customers”: That’s how Andrew Rebholz summarizes TravelCenters of America’s (TA’s) quest to improve. In recent years, that mission has led to a rebirth of the Fortune 500 company as a convenience-store retailer. After decades of building a name for itself as one of the largest full-service travel-center companies in the United States, Westlake, Ohio-based TA has become an aggressive c-store acquirer, growing that segment of its business since 2013, when it purchased the Minit Mart chain based in Bowling Green, Ky.
The company now has about 200 c-stores, and Rebholz—who joined the company in 1997, became CFO in 2007 and took over as CEO Jan. 1—is eager to incorporate the c-stores and drive traffic to both retail entities.
“I expect that we will continue to offer high-quality, value-priced goods and services to our existing customers, including in our Minit Mart convenience stores and our Quaker Steak & Lube automotive-themed restaurants, and that we will remain on constant alert to find ways to serve new customers,” he said in November. And with retail sites in 43 states, the chain has the wide reach to affect the industry well beyond its own forecourts.
25—Acres of land under a typical TA travel center