BRISTOL, Ind. -- American Petroleum Inc., which operates five gas stations and convenience stores under the Gallops name in Indiana, has opened a medieval-themed truckstop.
"I was always fascinated by the regal-looking buildings," owner Harpreet "Monte" Singh told The Goshen News. "And just like fashions keep coming back, I just wanted to do something new. It was a concept that came in my mind, and I just wanted to work on it. We just wanted to get all the things like gasoline, diesel, fast food, convenience items, beer and wine."
Singh said the concept has been in the works for 14 years.
He and his business partners, including his wife, Simran, who works as the vice president and secretary of the company, and construction manager Nate Yoder, recognized the prime location for the store, which he said sees 33,000 vehicles pass it every year and adds that it's located right between Middlebury and Elkhart to the east and west, and Bristol and Goshen to the north and south. He hopes to serve all of those communities.
The $10 million project, with its castle-like exterior, will have a medieval theme with its décor, reported The Elkhart Truth. It covers 15 acres and features 24 gas pumps for passenger vehicles and another 12 diesel pumps for semi-trucks. There is an an electric-vehicle (EV) charging station, a semi-truck scale, electrical hookups for truckers and room for 38 semis to park overnight.
The 23,000-square-foot store opened earlier this month and includes a full retail convenience store that is now open, 11 shower rooms to serve travelers, a Subway that could open as soon as this week, a McDonald's that is scheduled to open Sept. 25 and a café that will serve gourmet coffee drinks and pastries that will also open next month, said the Goshen News.
One interior wall will feature huge portraits of Triple Crown thoroughbreds, in keeping with the Gallops theme. "In our book, they are kings," Singh told the Elkhart Truth.
Middlebury, Ind.-based American Petroleum Inc. owns and operates five gas stations and convenience stores in Middlebury, LaPorte and Michigan City, Inc.
Click here to read the full Goshen News report. For more details and to view additional photos of the store under construction, click here to read earlier coverage in The Elkhart Truth.
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