NEW BOSTON, Texas - Road Ranger, an Illinois-based travel center company, held a grand opening for its latest store Tuesday in New Boston, Texas.
Operating out of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin since 1984 by Daniel "Dan" Arnold, and the first Road Ranger opening in Rockford, Illinois, Road Ranger's expansion as a chain has been careful and purposeful.
"This is the first store opened in three years," said Ryan David Arnold, vice-president of marketing. "This store is part of our plan to connect our Illinois-to-Texas route. The New Boston, Texas, store is a key installation in that plan."
The company is closely tracking the plan of having a highway running completely connected from the port of New Orleans to Winnipeg, Canada, and wants to be positioned to service travelers along that route.
"We have two more sites guaranteed to open next year," he said. "They will be located in Brinkley, Arkansas, and Marion, Illinois."
Besides being careful about the number and locations of their stores, Road Ranger's management stresses the family-friendly nature of the organization.
"Dan Arnold passed away in 2015. His wife, Linda, sold the business but took her time in doing it. Eventually, it was bought by Enex, a Chilean investment company, but Linda was careful about who she allowed to obtain the business," Arnold said. "She wanted to make sure the business stayed intact as it was and everyone kept their jobs."
That concern about care and families has held up and extends to how the business runs itself as a corporation as well as how it manages its individual stores.
"I was a former store manager when I first encountered Kevin (Kevin James Malone, general manager of the New Boston Road Ranger location), said Sandi Munn, district supervisor of the region in which the New Boston store is based. "Part of how we manage this company and its stores is finding the best talent we can and recruiting them. When we can, we bring them onboard."
"We have solid policies and procedures, clean stores and great food and facilities for our travelers," Malone said. "But what makes it all run is having the right talent in our employees and taking care of them. That's key to any business, but especially one like this. Take care of your people and they take care of you. That's the basis of customer service. They are on the front lines. We take care of our employees, they will take care of our customers and the business."
Travelers, both private and commercial, will find a range of amenities for their convenience and comfort. Spacious fuel islands and parking, areas to relax and showers for those who want to clean up and refresh, Road Ranger has it all.
Road Ranger offers a wide range of foods for travelers, from fresh fruit, sandwiches, eggs and more, to popular options like freshly made pizza and pretzels as well as tacos. The company also has just entered into a partnership with Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburgers.
"When we were getting set up in New Boston, that's what people asked us the most about," Munn said. "
"We will also have one in the Road Ranger going up in Brinkley," Arnold said. "Folks gotta have their Frosties."