History
Bill Moon, a regional manager for Standard Oil, purchased the land and built the original truckstop in 1964 along the emerging I-80, the 3,000-mile (4,800 km) highway which 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, a 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 (MO) Petro on Interstate 44, Oak Grove (MO) 70 off Interstate 70 just outside of Kansas City, and Kenley (NC) 95 off of Interstate 95.
Read more about this topic: Iowa 80
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