The Indianapolis area is getting a shiny new giant travel center this holiday travel week.
“We’re creating an elevated travel experience for the family traveler,” said Michael Rubenstein, president and CEO of Wally’s, which is launching its Whitestown location on June 30. “There’s a growing segment of the market, and people are looking for food service, clean restrooms, and an experience.”
The Wally’s 53,000-square-foot travel center is opening at 4155 Albert S. White Drive, along Interstate 65, is the Illinois-based chain’s third location, and its largest.
Who’s behind Wally’s travel centers?
Wally’s, with its road-trip theme and retro vibe, debuted in September 2020 in Pontiac, Illinois. A second opened in Fenton, Missouri, in March 2022.
Rubenstein and his cousin, Chad Wallis, came up with the idea for a family-friendly travel center and the tagline “Home of the Great American Road Trip” while on a ski trip in Colorado.
Rubenstein worked in real estate development. Wallis leads his family’s Wallis Companies, which includes businesses that distribute fuel; operate dozens of On The Run convenience stores; run tobacco, liquor and party supply stores; operate car washes; and make food for convenience stores, airports, hospitals and vending machines.
Each cousin grew up about an hour outside of St. Louis, Missouri – Rubenstein in Sullivan, Missouri, and Wallis in Cuba, Missouri – and figured the concept would work well between St. Louis and Chicago.
“There was nothing on that corridor,” said Rubenstein, Wally’s president and CEO. “We always thought that it would work in the Midwest, and potentially nationwide, but for our first store, we were very confident of that corridor, and thought it was the right spot for our first store.”
The Wally’s name and mascots
The company isn’t named after a person, Rubenstein said.
“We came up with the tagline and the name Wally, the logo and all of the connotations it has of a feeling of a full-service gas station from the ‘50s – friendly service, attention to detail, hospitality that kind of doesn’t exist anymore,” Rubenstein said. “That was the basis of the business and the vibe. A nostalgic family-friendly feel.”
“The name Wally was just a perfect match,” he said. “Wally’s kind of embodies this old school hospitality where people kind of have a warm, friendly feeling.”
The brand has several mascots. Wally Bear is the most prominent, but a turtle, a squirrel, a raccoon, a fox and a chipmunk are also used.
“It’s all fun, friendly characters” based on animals commonly found in the Midwest, Rubenstein said.
What’s at Wally’s in Whitestown?
The new center will feature:
Food is prepared fresh on site
Among the menu highlights are hot sandwiches and the Wally Dog, made with 100% beef hot dog sliced down the middle and seared.
Food stations offer pizza and baked goods prepared onsite by team members clad in white chef’s coats.
Popcorn is popped in-house from kernels grown for the company. There’s a new flavor highlighted each week.
Customers can quench their thirst at about 60 soda dispensers or choose from 12 Sloosh frozen drink flavors.
Indiana Wally’s is a model travel center
The Whitestown location, into which the company said it has invested $40 million, is expected to see four to five million visitors annually, and will be the typical size for Wally’s centers going forward, Rubenstein said.
A fourth location being constructed in Kansas City, Missouri, suburb of Independence, will measure about 54,000 square feet.
While 18-wheelers aren’t allowed, other trucks, including box trucks and work trucks, are welcome.
Where is the new Wally’s in Indiana?
The Whitestown store is at 4155 Albert S. White Drive, along Interstate 65.
When will Wally’s open in Whitestown?
The grand opening and ribbon cutting for the 4155 Albert S. White Drive store will be at 10 a.m. on June 30.
Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith is expected to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The travel center will open to the public at 10:30 a.m.
Contact reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cjackson@usatodayco.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fresh food on the road. Wally’s travel center opens in Indiana
Reporting by Cheryl V. Jackson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cheryl V. Jackson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
