Flying J plans to open at least two new travel plazas in Canada before the end of next year, both along Highway 401 on either side of metropolitan Toronto.
"When we look at locations along strategic, high-traffic corridors, the area around Toronto has been underserved," said Alan Stewart, vice president of restaurant operations at Flying J, which has 165 locations in North America.
"We will be on both the east and west sides of the city by the end of 2000, and at some point we will be in Western Canada," he said. "We're on a growth curve to build 20 to 30 locations a year, and we see Canada as an important market because of the volume of commercial traffic, the proximity to other Flying J locations and the lack of comparable services. What relatively little exposure we've had there has been very successful."
Flying J has one established truckstop in Canada, at Vaudreuil on Highway 540 near Montreal. The site has a restaurant, driver's lounge, laundry, showers, convenience store, 109 parking spaces, scales and a permit office, but no tire service, repair shop or motel. A second travel center is expected to be built near London, Ontario, by the end of 1999.
Stewart would not elaborate on the size and scope of the new locations. Flying J typically builds three styles of truckstop, with parking lots designed to handle between 50 and 350 vehicles.