Applegreen’s $450 million project to renovate all service areas along the 570-mile New York State Thruway was put to the test this Fourth of July.
A record 800,000 visitors stopped by the thruway’s 27 service areas operated by Applegreen during the holiday travel week, the New York State Thruway Authority shared in a news release on Thursday.
More than 360,000 transactions were recorded during the week, meaning 1 in 2 travelers who used a Thruway Service Area made a purchase, the authority said.
“Our goal with the New York Thruway investment program was to radically improve the service area product for our guests and to provide them with a world-class roadside hospitality experience,” said Matthew Scally, Applegreen’s vice president of operations. “We have delivered modern, comfortable and sustainable areas across the Thruway and we were delighted to welcome so many travelers to our 27 Thruway sites for the July 4th week.”
The first three rebuilt service areas reopened to the public in 2022, and the full project was completed in November. As part of the project, 23 new service areas were built, and four existing facilities were renovated and upgraded.
- Applegreen is No. 48 on CSP’s 2026 Top 202 ranking of convenience-store chains by U.S. store count.
“Welcoming a record number of customers during the recent Independence Day holiday week demonstrates the value of the private investment that was made in modernizing all 27 Thruway Service Areas over the last five years,” said Thruway Authority Executive Director Frank G. Hoare. “As Gov. [Kathy] Hochul has said, government should work for the people, and this public-private partnership is a prime example of that commitment in action. These modern facilities play an important role in supporting safe travel by providing customers with convenient, reliable places to stop during their travels, all without the use of toll or taxpayer dollars.”
Applegreen’s 2,000 employees worked a total of 54,000 hours during the July Fourth holiday week, the New York State Thruway Authority said.
Each of the service areas has an Applegreen convenience store and a range of branded food and coffee outlets, all of which are operated by Applegreen employees through partnership agreements. Some also feature new amenities like outdoor pet walking areas, EV charging stations, nursing stations, improved commercial trucking services and farmers markets. Through the Taste NY program, the c-stores also have nearly 30 local New York food and beverage vendors.
Dublin-based Applegreen, which has a U.S. base in Glen Rock, New Jersey, has further U.S. expansion plans. It currently has 181 U.S. locations and this year will open the first of four new highway service plazas on the E-470 in Colorado as part of a $70 million U.S. investment, a company spokesman said.
In May, Applegreen hired Andy Malik as president of its U.S. business to oversee this next phase of growth.
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