Bill Moon, a regional manager for Standard Oil, purchased the land and built the original truckstop in 1964 along the emerging I-80, the 4,700 km highway that would directly connect San Francisco with New York. “As they were building I-80, my father was responsible for finding land and building truck stops for Standard,” says his daughter Delia Meier.
Initially, a small white enamel building surrounded by cornfields, it housed a modest truckers’ store, one lube bay, and a restaurant. Bill Moon took direct control in September 1965 and eventually purchased the site from the corporation in 1984. In 1992, the year of Moon’s death, it became a Travelcenter of America franchise, though the facility is still owned and operated by the Moon family. In addition, the Iowa 80 Group also owns the Joplin Petro on Interstate 44, Oak Grove 70 Petro off Interstate 70 just outside Kansas City, and Kenly 95 off Interstate 95.
Iowa 80 has a large truck parking lot, truck scales, and fueling stations as is customary for a truck stop. There are fifteen fuel stations. The stations have nozzles on each side, so tanks on both sides of the truck can be filled simultaneously. Since the introduction of trucks requiring diesel exhaust fluid, the fuel island at Iowa 80 has been renovated to include pumps for bulk DEF dispensing. Iowa 80 has a service center where vehicle diagnostics, minor repairs, oil changes or tire rotations can be done. A small convenience store is located on the fuel island. Iowa 80 also has a truck washing facility, and even the engine can be washed.
The Iowa 80 facility also has a two-story, 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2) showroom, which is the largest trucker’s store in the country. Here customers may purchase chrome accessories, books, DVDs, CDs, cell phone accessories, CB radio equipment, apparel and cleaners, chrome stacks, and bumpers. There are custom-built show trucks, one on a rotating platform. A 20-by-40-foot (6.1 m × 12.2 m) wall displays 500 illuminated truck lights. Also located in the store are a vinyl graphics shop, a custom T-shirt shop, and an embroidery center.
According to en. Wikipedia. Source of photos: internet
