Jul 18, 2018

All Indiana Toll Road Travel Plazas Now Open for Drivers

HMSHost, Indiana Toll Road, and 7-Eleven hold grand opening at Wilbur Shaw Travel Plaza to celebrate completed travel plaza network and 7-Eleven’s new APLUS convenience stores

ROLLING PRAIRIE, IN — Travelers on the Indiana Toll Road (ITR) can now enjoy new state-of-the-art travel plaza facilities with leading amenities and modern touches. ITR Concession Company LLC (ITRCC), global restaurateur HMSHost, and 7-Eleven held a grand opening at Wilbur Shaw Travel Plaza in Rolling Prairie, officially celebrating the completed 80/90 Push Project and welcoming drivers to enjoy an array of convenient new offerings. All eight Indiana Toll Road travel plazas from the Push Project are open, providing essential retreats for drivers to eat, drink, shop, and rest before getting back on the road.

“This Grand Opening is the celebration of a $70-million-dollar investment towards creating modern, state-of-the-art rest stops that focus on environmental wellness and community enhancement,” said ITRCC Chief Operating Officer Rick Fedder. “We look forward to continuing in our attempts to build a greater community here in Northern Indiana, along with our partners in HMSHost and 7-Eleven.”

“HMSHost is proud to offer a wide array of food and beverage options to satisfy hungry travelers in four of these new modern and welcoming facilities in the Hoosier State,” said HMSHost Vice President of Business Development Michael Price. “We are very excited to celebrate this milestone with the Indiana Toll Road and we thank the ITR Concession Co. for their partnership.”

“7-Eleven is excited to collaborate with the ITR by investing in and operating these State of the Art Plazas on the Indiana Toll Road,” said Brad Williams, senior vice president of acquisition operations for 7-Eleven. “We are looking forward to a busy summer drive season and want to welcome all of our customers with an enhanced assortment that will soon include Big Gulp and Slurpee drinks and, eventually, the iconic 7-Eleven branded convenience store.”

To celebrate the completion of the project in the community and to fight the root causes of poverty, HMSHost Foundation, the ITR Concession Company, and 7-Eleven made a joint grant of $7,500 to The Pax Center. The Pax Center is a food-providing organization in nearby downtown LaPorte.

From left to right: Robert Boorom, Vice President of Operations, HMSHost; Alyssa Staley, Director of Human Resources and Customer Service, ITR Concession Co., LLC (Indiana Toll Road); Patrick Dillon, Vice President of Operations, 7-Eleven; Nate Loucks, President and Chief Peace Officer, The Pax Center.

HMSHost operates Starbucks®, Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen, and Refresh & Co. at the Ernie Pyle and Gene S. Porter Travel Plazas in Howe. Refresh & Co. is a casual marketplace-style concept by HMSHost featuring high-quality scratch-made meals such as daily seasonal soups, hand-stretched pizzas, and grilled-to-order burgers. Refresh & Co. also features specialty retail goods at the plaza’s entrance such as healthy to-go packaged snacks and Indiana-themed items like ‘Hoosier’ t-shirts.

A list of existing HMSHost-operated locations on the Indiana Toll Road is available on the HMSHost location finder map.

The grand opening festivities were obvious for travelers stopping at plazas throughout the length of the Toll Road with all ITRCC employees wearing special grand opening polo shirts in recognition of the event. In addition, the Indiana Toll Road is celebrating its first summer with a completed travel plaza network by asking all patrons to pledge to put the phone down while driving. ITRCC volunteers at every travel plaza encouraged patrons to sign up during the grand opening festivities, working to end distracted driving and the accidents it causes. Anyone can take this pledge at www.PutThePhoneDownIndiana.com.