WALCOTT, Iowa – The Iowa 80 Truckstop hits a milestone — of the diamond variety — this year as it marks its 60th anniversary of serving America’s professional drivers and interstate travelers.
According to Iowa 80 Group, which owns the world’s largest truck stop, the diamond anniversary amounts to a total of 21,915 days, or 525,600 hours, of always being open and providing a safe, welcoming place for travelers to take a break from the road.
In 1964, Iowa 80 Truckstop began as a small building with six diesel pumps and a 50-seat restaurant at what would eventually become Exit 284 on Interstate 80. Company Founder Bill Moon had scouted out the spot for Standard Oil before the interstate was completed. He would become the location’s manager in 1965.
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Mr. Moon loved to sit at the counter in the restaurant and talk with drivers — asking them about their families and their lives, and quizzing them on what they needed while they were out on the road, the Iowa 80 Group said. Those suggestions would become a roadmap to what amenities Mr. Moon would add to Iowa 80.
For the entrepreneur, the truck stop was just one of his transportation service businesses. He also later founded Truckomat Truck Washes and CAT Scale Company.
As the years passed, Interstate 80 was completed and hundreds, then thousands of truckers and travelers were stopping by Iowa 80 to fuel, grab a bite to eat and head on down the road. In 1984, Standard Oil (now Amoco) decided to sell the facility and Mr. Moon, who had been managing it nearly 20 years, jumped at the chance He and his
wife Carolyn leveraged everything they had, including borrowing money from friends, to purchase Iowa 80.
Once the Moon family owned Iowa 80, they could expand the building and add services as needed for their growing customer base.
Today, after 32 expansions and remodels, Iowa 80 is led by the second generation of the Moon family, who have dedicated their lives to providing a home away from home for the thousands of people who visit Iowa 80 each day.
Inside the sprawling Iowa 80 Truckstop, visitors will find a gift store, the Super Truck Showroom, a dentist, a barber shop, a chiropractor, a workout room, laundry facilities, a 60-seat movie theater, a trucker’s TV lounge, 24 private showers, and many restaurant options including the Iowa 80 Kitchen. Other food chains include Wendy’s, Dairy Queen, Orange Julius, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Einstein Bagels and Caribou Coffee, Blimpie and Chester’s Chicken as well as Iowa 80’s convenience store.
Other amenities include: a custom embroidery and vinyl shop, 42 BP branded gas and diesel fueling positions at the main building, 34 high-speed diesel pumps for truckers at the fuel center, a seven-bay truck service center, a three-bay Truckomat truck wash, a CAT Scale, a Dogomat Pet Wash, and the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum. The museum, which
was opened in Mr. Moon’s memory in 2008, features more than 100 antique trucks from his collection as well as vintage signs, gas pumps, antique toy trucks and other trucking memorabilia.
“It is really amazing to have reached this milestone,” said Delia Moon Meier, Iowa 80’s senior vice president and second generation leader. “We are so fortunate to have such wonderful, dedicated employees and loyal customers.”
Truck stop leaders and staff are still working on plans for celebrating the 60-year anniversary, but this year’s Walcott Trucker’s Jamboree — planned for July 11-13 — will have additional festivities to celebrate.
Dedicated to Celebrating America’s Truckers, the jamboree is held each July. Last year’s attendance hit a record 56,000 people over the three days.
“Without professional truck drivers, trucks stop. Without trucks, America stops. We appreciate their hard work and the Walcott Truckers Jamboree is our way of saying ‘thank you,’” Ms. Meier said in a news release announcing the 60th anniversary year.
Iowa 80 currently serves more than 5,000 customers per day and has well-lit parking for 900 tractor-trailers, 250 cars and 20 buses. There are no keys to the doors, as none have ever been needed.
The truck stop also has been an important part of the Walcott and surrounding community — employing more than 500 people. And many are family; brothers, sisters, fathers, sons,
daughters, mothers and cousins are all part of the team.
For more information, visit www.iowa80truckstop.com or find Iowa 80 on Facebook.
