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When Pilot Company launched its New Horizons initiative in March 2022, the travel center chain wanted to complete all 400 store remodels within three years. While construction and permitting delays have set that timeline back, the company continues to make progress, having finished about 150 remodels as of last month, Donna Brough, a regional manager for Pilot, said in an interview.
Every Pilot remodel varies depending on each store’s situational needs, Brough said. Some locations only need their foodservice counters, restrooms or laundry facilities overhauled, while others require a complete teardown and reset.
In 2023, Pilot decided that one of its travel centers in Gary, Indiana, needed a total reboot. The company started construction on the site that July, and by December work was finished.
“This location here is probably the one I’m most proud of,” said Brough, who oversees 10 Pilot locations in Indiana as well as two in Illinois. “It was one of the older facilities that we had that had some remodels along the way, but this kind of put it all together.”
The site’s forecourt features updated fuel canopies and new diesel pumps, while the store’s exterior features new brick and upgraded windows and signage. Here's a look inside the store, where the bulk of Pilot’s remodeling efforts occurred.
Wall-to-wall changes
Every wall and shelving unit inside the store is new, Brough said. This location has also been equipped with digital media screens in its food and beverage sections, as well as a bigger cold case near the front entrance.
The remodeled store also features a completely new employee break room where the old cash register used to be. This room has desks and lockers, a television and a refrigerator. C-Store Dive did not include photographs of this section to maintain privacy for the store employees.
Food destination
The new-and-improved foodservice section is one of the stars of Pilot’s remodeled site in Gary. A counter that used to only serve pizza and fried foods now features Pilot’s PJ Fresh program, a fast-casual dining concept that the company debuted in 2013. Customers can now order an array of non-fried items, such as roasted chicken, meatloaf and steak burgers, as well as sides like mashed potatoes and gravy.
Pilot also remodeled the adjacent Subway, which was previously “more enclosed,” Brough said. The Subway and PJ Fresh are now connected in the same aisle.
“Whether you’re going to get Subway, pizza or hot food, you can kind of get that all in one area,” Brough said.
Not far from the foodservice section is the beverage cooler, which has been expanded with three new cases on one end, Brough said. Additionally, each individual cooler case was given a new shelf.
Brand-new kitchen
While the site previously had a small area for frying food, it didn’t have a standard kitchen. Among its latest upgrades is a full kitchen, which has made everything easier from an operational perspective, Brough said.
The area that’s now the kitchen — which features brand-new equipment, as well as walk-in coolers and freezers — used to be part of the Subway and an employee back office, Brough said. She noted that this store’s team members had been patiently waiting for this upgrade amid the site’s construction process.
“I can’t describe how different this is,” Brough said while walking through the new kitchen.
Self-checkout additions
Also featured inside Pilot’s remodeled travel center in Gary are three self-checkout kiosks developed by NCR Voyix. Pilot touted self-checkout kiosks as part of its New Horizons program when the initiative launched two years ago, calling the technology a way to “increase efficiency and enable team members to further personalize the guest experience.”
It’s no secret that self-checkout kiosks have been hit or miss across all industries. When asked if customers have liked or disliked these additions to the store, Brough said it’s been a bit of both, but generally a positive experience.
“Guests who are comfortable with them go to them, and if not, we still have associates to [serve] them,” she said.
More hygienic services
Laundry and shower services are two of the key differences between traditional c-stores and travel centers. Pilot’s remodeled travel center in Gary received upgrades on both, including several brand-new washers and dryers.
The laundry area, which previously had one washing machine and two dryers, now has three washers and five dryers. It also includes a new seating area with tables and chairs where customers can wait while their clothes wash and dry.
Pilot also added one new shower in the restroom area and refreshed the flooring and lighting in every restroom, Brough said, along with upgrading hardware such as toilet paper and paper towel dispensers.
