Pilot Makes Progress on Remodeled Travel Centers

Pilot Company’s New Horizons initiative is well underway with six more travel centers recently completing full store remodels. To commemorate the newly overhauled travel centers, Pilot Company teamed up with Monster to host a celebration with the Monster Girls and several giveaways at the site of the very first Pilot travel center in Corbin, Kentucky that originally opened in 1981. This historic travel center now features a modernized exterior and interior with remodeled restrooms and is home to another first for the company – its new Tex-Mex deli concept called Burrito Junction.

Pilot Company’s chef and food innovation team spent two years testing and fine-tuning the “make it your way” Burrito Junction menu before its launch at the Pilot travel center in Corbin. The new deli concept is open 24/7 to serve guests at all hours and features everything from customizable breakfast burritos in the morning to a full choice menu of burritos, tacos, bowls, and quesadillas that can be personalized with house-made guacamole, queso, salsa and an array of toppings.

“We strive to connect people and places,” says Jamie King, Senior Director of Food and Beverage for Pilot Company. “Food is always a great way to connect with our guests and Burrito Junction is another way for us to do just that. Our guests are loving the fresh variety that this new concept brings, and we are exploring opportunities to expand it to additional locations while continuing to innovate our food offerings.”

Several more of Pilot Company’s travel centers finished top-to-bottom remodels, incorporating feedback from professional drivers and guests to add more fresh food options and upgrade the overall store experience. In addition to overhauling the exterior and interior of each location, key improvements include:

Bakersfield, CA: New kitchen for team member to prepare an expanded menu of fresh food, updated laundry facilities, and newly added quick-serve restaurant brands

Battle Creek, MI: Newly added deli with grab-and-go options for made-in-house hot and cold foods, expanded beverage selection, and updated check-out area

Cartersville, GA: Enhanced deli with grab-and-go options for hot and cold foods, expanded beverage selection, and fully remodeled Subway

Corbin, KY: Upgraded deli with additional grab-and-go items, four new self-checkouts, and all-new Burrito Junction deli concept

Phoenix, AZ: Upgraded deli with additional grab-and-go items, expanded beverage selection, and four new self-checkouts

Staunton, VA: New kitchen for team member to prepare an expanded menu of fresh food and grab-and-go cold items, expanded beverage selection, four new self-checkouts, and full remodeled Arby’s

“With every store that we remodel, we take care to make improvements that will better serve our guests and team members now and into the future,” says Allison Cornish, VP of Store Modernization at Pilot Company. “It’s amazing to see the transformations and to see the progress as we ramp up renovations at more travel centers across our network.”

The three-year New Horizons project marks the company’s most significant investment in store modernization to date. It will fully remodel more than 400 Pilot and Flying J travel centers and make additional upgrades at several more locations across the country.

As part of the New Horizons initiative and in honor of its long history of giving back, Pilot Company is donating a combined $70,000 to the local school districts in these six communities to support of STEM, technology, and career development programs.

To help its guests go even further with their end of summer travels, Pilot Company is offering a 10-cent discount on every gallon of gas through October 31 and deals on popular brands to save in-store with the myRewards Plus app.