Travelers, truckers will soon find new Love's on I-10 in Gulfport
GULFPORT -- An oasis for weary travelers and truckers, Love's Travel Stop, is building a big store off Interstate 10 at County Farm Road, its second location on the Coast.
The Gulfport area had a Love's one interstate exit to the west on Canal Road, but it closed when the state began buying up rights of way for a road-widening project that has since stalled.
"I think it will be really exciting for people who remember the previous location," said Kealey Dorian, a Love's communications specialist at corporate offices in Oklahoma City. "We have evolved. Everything is bigger and better and improved."
Love's doesn't discuss costs, but a $1.7 million building permit was issued for the store and a $331,000 permit for a tire shop. Dorian said the convenience store and truck stop, scheduled to open in the summer, will be 10,000 to 11,000 square feet, with a layout that gives customers space to move around.
The store will house a McDonald's and Chester's fried chicken restaurants, fitting Love's business model of serving Americans on the go. And there must be more of them than ever. The company has 34 stores under construction and 20 more planned.
"We like to help people get in and out quickly," Dorian said.
But not so quickly that they would pass up the opportunity for one of the variety of hot dogs or egg rolls rolling on a hot bar, or perhaps one of the gargantuan stuffed animals stuffed on a shelf above the entry to bathrooms and showers. The Love's at the Cedar Lake exit in Biloxi features this merchandise, plus snacks, toys placed under a Christmas tree for travelers who need to arrive with a gift, and caffeine -- pots and pots of caffeine. The smallest-size coffee at the Biloxi Love's is 16 ounces.
Love's also has tapped into a growing demand for electronics and accessories for mobile devices. Then there's a whole section that caters to truckers. They can buy attachable strobe lights, tools, small alarm clocks and backpacks.
David Hitch has supervised construction of quite a few Love's stores. He is the project superintendent for the Gulfport job. Right now, the land is being cleared and graded. Live oaks near County Line Road will remain standing.
Hitch and his wife arrived on the Coast in their fifth-wheel trailer. Their six kids are grown, so they're doing just what they had planned, traveling. He said his company, W.H. Bass Inc., based in Duluth, Ga., is building about 22 Love's stores at this moment. He drew a good project.
"I'm liking this job," he said as the temperature climbed into the 70s on Thursday morning. "I finally have a winter job where it's not winter. Two years ago, I was in Dodge City, Kan., building a Love's. It was cold, cold and windy."
This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Travelers, truckers will soon find new Love's on I-10 in Gulfport ."