Inflationary pressures forced the Travel Center to change philosophy over the past year
Cookeville – The TA truck stop and travel Center (TA), located on Highway 111 off exit 288 at the former Amish-owned gas station and truck stop site, has set Feb. 22 as a tentative opening date. A spokesman for the company told the Upper Cumberland Business Journal (UCBJ) the facility is like nothing the area has seen before.
“This is the area’s first food court-style facility, and we look forward to opening and serving the members of the community,” said the spokesman.
The new structure is 16,200-square-foot.
“We look forward to becoming part of Cookeville and Putnam County in the next several weeks,” said the spokesman.
The facility will “have many amenities that will be attractive to our new neighbors.”
It will feature ample car parking, diesel and gasoline, a fully stocked convenience store including snack and beverage options and restaurants including El Tapatio, Sbarro and Hardee’s.
Fueling up – TA will feature ample car parking, diesel and gasoline.
TA, one of the largest of its kind in the nation, recently announced their Q3 earnings outperformed the same time last year. They achieved 37M in net income, an improvement of 14.8M or 67%. Net income per share also improved by $0.97.
“TA delivered another strong quarter, demonstrating continued resilience and strength in our business resulting in a 67% increase in net income and a 36% improvement in Adjusted EBITDA,” said Jonathan M. Pertchik, TA’s chief executive officer in a statement. “TA has completed the transformation stage of our strategic plan and we are squarely focused on the growth and innovation phase to drive results into 2023 and beyond.”
Inflationary pressures forced the Travel Center to change philosophy over the past year.
“While we were able to increase pricing to help offset inflationary pressures felt across our industry as well as the broader economy,” said Pertchik. “We are continuing to see the impact of cost growth and a relative softening in hospitality as inflation impacts consumer behavior.”
New locations like the one in Cookeville, and ongoing investments in the brand is a plans for steady growth into 2023. TA is moving forward with growth initiatives designed to drive performance. TA is focusing on-site refreshes, technology initiatives and network expansion.
They added five travel centers, two truck service facilities and 16 franchise agreements in 2022 alone.
“To date, these acquisitions are meeting or exceeding our EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) expectations,” said Pertchik. “In addition, we expect 15 of the previously signed franchise locations to begin operations in 2023, furthering the growth that our transformation plan envisioned. While our results in the third quarter continued to benefit from strong fuel margins, we are confident that our overall operational excellence will ensure TA remains resilient as we move toward our long-term targets in 2023 and beyond.”
Image by jcomp on Freepik.
