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{{More footnotes|date=March 2009}} |
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{{Infobox company |
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| name = {{nowrap|Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores}} |
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| logo = Love's logo.png<!-- PNG versions are better for articles. Do not remove. --> |
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| type = [[Private company|Private]] |
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| founded = 1964 |
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| founder = [[Tom Love]] |
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| key_people = [[Tom Love]], <small>Executive Chairman</small> Greg Love, <small>co-CEO</small><br> Frank Love, <small>co-CEO</small> <br>Doug Stussi, <small>CFO</small> |
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| industry = [[Energy]], [[Convenience store|Retail (Convenience stores)]], [[Hospitality]], [[Self storage|Storage]] |
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| services = Diesel fuel and gasoline<br>Truck / tire repair and maintenance<br>Restaurants<br>Convenience stores<br>Driver amenities<br>Hospitality<br>Storage |
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| num_employees = 17,000 (2016) |
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| slogan = Clean Places, Friendly Faces |
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| homepage = {{url|www.loves.com}} |
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| location_city = [[The Village, Oklahoma]] |
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| locations = 410+ (2017) |
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| location_country = United States |
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}} |
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[[File:Love's in Choctaw.jpg|thumb|A Love's Travel Stop on [[I-40]] in [[Choctaw, Oklahoma]]]] |
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'''Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores''' (commonly referred to as '''Love's''') is a family-owned chain of more than 410 [[Rest area|truck stop]] and [[convenience store]]s in 40 states. The company is privately owned and headquartered in The Village, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. Love’s is currently ranked No. 14 on the Forbes list of America’s largest private companies. Love’s has two primary kinds of stores: country stores and travel stops. Country stores are fueling stations with a convenience store attached. The larger travel stops are located along highways and offer additional amenities such as food from restaurant chains like [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]], [[Arby’s]], [[Baskin Robbins]], [[Bojangles']], [[Burger King]], [[Chester's International|Chester's]], [[Dairy Queen]], [[Del Taco]], [[Denny's]], [[Dunkin' Donuts]], [[Friendly's]], [[Godfather's Pizza]], [[Green Burrito]], [[Hardee's]], [[IHOP Express]], [[McDonald's]], [[Sonic (restaurant)|Sonic]], [[Carl’s Jr.]], [[Taco Bell]], [[Taco John's]], [[Wendy's]], trucking supplies, showers and RV dump stations. Love’s has approximately 17,000 employees. |
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== History == |
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In 1964, [[Tom Love|Tom]] and Judy Love spent $5,000 to lease an abandoned [[Filling station#United States|service station]] in [[Watonga, Oklahoma]], an hour northwest of Oklahoma City. They named their company Musket Corporation. Over the next eight years, Musket opened 40 additional gas stations. All of them operated under the [[Kerr-McGee]] gasoline brand. |
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When the [[1973 oil crisis|fuel crunch]] of the early 1970s began and gasoline was in short supply in the United States, Tom Love diversified for the sake of the company's success. He launched a new concept in Watonga: the "Mini Stop Country Store." By adding a grocery line to their self-service fuel sales, Musket became one of the nation's first{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} to offer one-stop shopping for travelers. The Mini Stop was successful and the company quickly opened more stores in western Oklahoma. |
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In 1972, Musket set out to convert all of its locations from gas stations to convenience stores with self-serve gasoline. By 1973, the company began using the family name to identify its locations. Love's Country Stores was the new name. |
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By 1978, Love's Country Stores had 60 locations in small communities throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. That year, the company began offering the Fresh Daily Deli, sandwiches made fresh daily on-location. Food service became the company's third profit center in each location, along with self-serve gasoline and convenience store items. The Fresh Daily Deli is branded today as Love's Subs. |
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By the end of 1981, the company reached a milestone with 100 Love's Country Stores locations in operation. The in-store decor was changed from the previous dark country look to a brighter theme. The same year, it opened the first Love's Travel Stop on [[Interstate 40]] in [[Amarillo, Texas]]. The travel stop opened a new [[target audience]] to Love's business; the addition of self-serve diesel fuel brought [[Truck driver|professional drivers]] to Love's. The Travel Stop was unique in that it served both the professional driver ''and'' the motoring public, resulting in more growth for Love's. |
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In 1985, Love's added gifts and novelties. Then in 1993, [[Taco Bell]] became a partner, opening a co-branded location in Oklahoma City. The success of this partnership quickly grew. |
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In 1995, the company opened its first triple-branded food service operation in [[El Paso, Texas]]. The location offered [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]], [[Taco Bell Express]] and [[Pizza Hut]]. |
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In the late 1990s, food service continued to grow. Soon the company was partnering with an array of co-branded restaurant concepts, including [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]], [[Arby’s]], [[Baskin Robbins]], [[Bojangles']], [[Burger King]], Chester's, [[Dairy Queen]], [[Del Taco]], [[Denny's]], [[Dunkin' Donuts]], [[Godfather's Pizza]], [[Green Burrito]], [[Hardee's]], [[IHOP Express]], [[McDonald's]], [[Sonic (restaurant)|Sonic]], [[Carl’s Jr.]], [[Taco Bell]], [[Taco John's]] and [[Wendy's]]. |
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[[File:Trucks at a Love's.jpg|thumb|Love's Travel Stop]]In 2000, [[Sales & Marketing Executives International]] awarded Love's the 2000 Outlook Award, for innovation and outstanding contribution to the future of the convenience store industry. |
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The first truck tire care location opened in 2008, and since then, the business has grown into a nationwide network of centers, offering tires, equipment, light mechanical work and roadside service. |
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On June 30, 2010, Love's acquired 20 [[Pilot Travel Centers]] locations and six [[Pilot Flying J|Flying J]] locations out of [[antitrust]] concerns in order for the [[Federal Trade Commission]] to approve the Pilot/Flying J merger.<ref>{{cite web|author=Username * |url=http://www.csnews.com/top-story-pilot__flying_j_finalize_merger-56010.html |title=Pilot, Flying J Finalize Merger |publisher=CSNews |date=2010-06-30 |accessdate=2014-03-31}}</ref> |
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Today, Love's operates more than 410 stores in 40 states. The current growth rate is about 30 – 35 store openings each year. |
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== Philanthropy == |
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===Children's Miracle Network Hospitals=== |
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Love’s has been a supporter of [[Children's Miracle Network Hospitals]] for 18 years. Each September, Love's customers help raise funds for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals through in-store purchases of paper balloons valued at $1, $5, or $20. Stores host fundraising events including bake sales, cookouts, golf tournaments and more. Since beginning its affiliation with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals in 1999, Love's and its customers have raised more than $16 million to help sick children in the communities where it operates stores. [[File:CMN-Gemini-Tanker.jpg|thumb|Love's Children's Miracle Network Tanker]] |
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===Other=== |
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*Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County |
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*[[National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum]] |
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*[[Oklahoma City Public Schools]] |
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*Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma |
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*United Way of Central Oklahoma |
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*[[Teach for America]] |
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*Creative Oklahoma |
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*Homeless Alliance |
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*[[Operation Homefront]] |
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*PlaySmart |
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== Sponsorships == |
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*[[Oklahoma City Thunder]] |
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*[[Oklahoma City Energy]] |
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*[[Oklahoma City Dodgers]] |
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*[[Civic Center]] |
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*[[deadCENTER Film Festival]] |
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*[[Oklahoma City Zoo]] |
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*[[Front Row Motorsports]] |
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*[[Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History]] |
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*[[Science Museum Oklahoma]] |
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*[[Oklahoma State Fair]] |
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*[[Truckers Against Trafficking]] |
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== Key dates == |
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1964: Tom and Judy Love launch the Musket chain with a gas station in Watonga, Oklahoma.<br /> |
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1972: The first Country Store opens in [[Guymon, Oklahoma]].<br /> |
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1978: Love's Country Stores Inc. is established.<br /> |
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1981: The first Travel Stop opens in [[Amarillo, Texas]].<br /> |
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1986: The company is renamed Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc.<br /> |
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1990: Love's adds major branded fast-food franchises to travel stops.<br /> |
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1999: Love's opens its 50th travel stop.<br /> |
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2000: Gemini Motor Transport becomes the primary carrier for Love's. <br /> |
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2013: Love's opens 300th location.<br/> |
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2015: Love's opens 300th travel stop. <br/> |
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2016: Love's purchases Trillium CNG. Love's opens 400th location. |
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== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{Commons category}} |
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{{Oklahoma City companies}} |
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{{Convenience stores}} |
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{{Trucking industry in the United States}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Love's Travel Stops and Country Stores}} |
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[[Category:Convenience stores of the United States]] |
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[[Category:Privately held companies in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Gas stations in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Truck stop chains]] |
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[[Category:Companies based in Oklahoma City]] |
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[[Category:Blaine County, Oklahoma]] |
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[[Category:1964 establishments in Oklahoma]] |
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