At the intersection of Interstate 30 and North King’s Highway, construction is completed for a new travel center. The highly anticipated rest stop features businesses new to Texarkana, such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Texas Best Smokehouse, as well as a second Golden Chick and Steak ‘n Shake. Today was the grand opening.

The plot of land where the construction took place was purchased by Victron Energy Inc. in January of this year. The land is valued at about $1.5 million, and the facility itself is worth roughly $5 million.

“The plot of land was originally owned by McLarty Ford, and it was purchased from them by Victron. The negotiation was very normal and went smoothly,” said Leo Alhennawi, manager of Texas Best Smokehouse. “We are definitely very encouraging of anyone who would like to apply for a job. It’s a large facility, and we need a large staff to run it properly.”

The travel center was set to be completed by Labor Day weekend, but the completion date was pushed later. Construction has been delayed a few times due to issues concerning weather and contractors not meeting expectations.

“Labor Day weekend [was] our target date to be completed by, but there have been a few setbacks such as all of the rain we have been receiving, and there were also complications with some of the contractors not meeting the expectations of the owners,” Alhennawi said.

Due to these new restaurants and the strategic location, management is confident that the new businesses being placed in the facility will attract large numbers of customers.

“We are sure that people will be attracted because of the new restaurants being put in place,” Alhennawi said. “People tend to flock to new businesses when they first come to town.”

Management is also hopeful that teenagers will utilize the space to congregate. They believe that teens will gather in the restaurants due to their popularity.

“As a manager, I think it would be fantastic if young people would use the businesses as a place to hang out,” Alhennawi said. “The area is safe and it will be really good for business.”