# OKCpedia > Businesses & Employers >  Love's

## Pete

With the recent construction of a new building in The Village and the purchase of the Atrium Towers from Chesapeake, Love's is obviously growing pretty quickly.

This article from OKC.biz reports 650 OKC employees and that the company is adding 20-25 new stores a year.

okcBIZ: News: Lovin' it




> Forbes took notice and reports that things at Loves are working out just fine. The magazine ranks Loves No. 9 on the annual list of Americas Largest Private Companies, and Tom and Judy appeared at No. 132 in the 2013 Richest People in America list with a net worth of $3.6 billion.

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## bchris02

I've always made it a point to stop at Love's when on cross country trips. They are usually quite a bit cleaner than many of their competitors. Their snacks and beverages are usually fresh as well. One time somewhere west of Amarillo I bought a Dr. Pepper and it had solid chunks floating in it. Never had that happen at a Love's. Glad to see them doing well.

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## GoThunder

> With the recent construction of a new building in The Village and the purchase of the Atrium Towers from Chesapeake, Love's is obviously growing pretty quickly.
> 
> This article from OKC.biz reports 650 OKC employees and that the company is adding 20-25 new stores a year.
> 
> okcBIZ: News: Lovin' it


Having worked at their corporate offices, I can assure you they are growing fast, and have been for a long time.  A few years ago they acquired several Pilot and Flying J locations and really expanded their footprint.  They are in 39 states, closing in quickly on 300 locations, and employ something like 10,000 people nationwide.

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## rlewis

I think a lot of people around here are unaware how big they really are.  By revenue, they are far and away OKC's biggest company.  Two years ago, their revenues were more than Devon and Chesapeake's revenues combined.  However, because they are a privately held company and they don't do a lot of press releases, they slide under the radar.  Like Hobby Lobby, in the last couple of years they have become very aggressive at expanding across the US.

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## Pete

Pretty impressive list of private-sector companies with headquarters in OKC:

Devon
Chesapeake
Continental
Enable Midstream
A ton of other energy companies
Hobby Lobby
Love's
Express Personnel
Paycom

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## shawnw

You forgot Braum's, if that counts...

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## Roger S

> You forgot Braum's, if that counts...


And Sonic.... or is Sonic publicly held?

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## Pete

Forgot about Braums and Sonic -- both should be listed prominently.

BTW, I meant "private sector" as in, not government, not privately held, as in not traded on the stock market.   :Smile:

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## jn1780

> Having worked at their corporate offices, I can assure you they are growing fast, and have been for a long time.  A few years ago they acquired several Pilot and Flying J locations and really expanded their footprint.  They are in 39 states, closing in quickly on 300 locations, and employ something like 10,000 people nationwide.


They passed 300 this year if you count the smaller car stops.

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## dmoor82

Possible new tower years down the road?

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## Teo9969

Sandridge
Chaparral
MidFirst 
American Fidelity

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## metro

> Forgot about Braums and Sonic -- both should be listed prominently.
> 
> BTW, I meant "private sector" as in, not government, not privately held, as in not traded on the stock market.


And another quiet giant like Loves is Century Martial Arts, the world's largest martial arts and MMA fighting equipment distributor/supplier, etc.

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## jn1780

> Possible new tower years down the road?


If your referring to Loves, they are more likely to try to buy the Hertz building south of them or buy the old Walmart building along with the strip mall and car wash west of their headquarters and build 2 to 3 story buildings.  However, these latest purchases suggest that it is unlikely they will do this in the near future.

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## Rover

Add LSB industries to the list.

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## Dubya61

> Add LSB industries to the list.


I saw a list once that had LSB Industries as one of the top 15 private (non government) employers in OKC.  That surprised me.

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## adaniel

Globe Life-nearly 4 million policy holders for life and health insurance, HQed in CityPlace Tower with at least a couple hundred employees. 

BancFirst-$3.8 billion in assets, HQed in Downtown

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## athensjohn

Globe Life HQ is now in McKinney, TX. They still have big operations here, though, including a huge direct-mail printing plant that has its own post office.

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## Plutonic Panda

Oklahoma City-based Love's brings CNG fueling to Dallas | News OK

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## Plutonic Panda

Love's to add to growing CNG network along Interstate 40 | NewsOK.com

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## jn1780

Since Chesapeake is gone no one really pays attention to the Atrium towers anymore, but it appears the entire North tower is currently getting an interior renovation by Loves.   I see the construction lights inside every morning on my way to work.

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## Pete

> Since Chesapeake is gone no one really pays attention to the Atrium towers anymore, but it appears the entire North tower is currently getting an interior renovation by Loves.   I see the construction lights inside every morning on my way to work.


That's actually more space for American Energy Partners.

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## Pete

Embracing new opportunities: Love’s expands into self-storage, plans more hotels
Company moves away from interstates

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record February 4, 20150

OKLAHOMA CITY – Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. plans to expand its services this year. The yellow, red and orange hearts will adorn more than convenience stores.

The company is entering the storage unit business with two facilities this spring, with more to come later this year.

Kevin McCarthy, director of special projects in real estate for Love’s, said the new venture is another example of founder Tom Love’s entrepreneurial drive.

 He said a Love’s corporate employee owns a storage unit facility next to the Love’s Travel Stop at S. Morgan Road and Interstate 35, and many professional drivers were renting the units.

“We thought this might be a good fit for us,” McCarthy said.

The company will open a 62,000-square-foot facility in El Paso, Texas, in April, and a 43,000-square-foot facility in Sweetwater, Texas, in May. The El Paso spot will have 289 non-climate-controlled units, 228 climate-controlled units and 51-covered recreational vehicle-boat parking spots. In Sweetwater, the company is building 236 non-climated-controlled units, 112 climate-controlled units, and 57 RV/boat parking spots. Both are next to Love’s Travel Stops, but will have separate entrances.

The storage facilities are being built on land the company initially purchased for the travel stops.

“We weren’t really going out and looking for the land,” McCarthy said. “It just happened that we accumulated surplus property over the years.”

Other planned storage facilities will be in Las Vegas, which is solely RV and boat storage; Bridgeton, Missouri; and Tulare, California. The Bridgeton site will open in early 2016, and the other two facilities are still in early development stages. All three will sit next to Love’s Travel Stops.

Another company venture won’t always be next to a travel stop. Love’s is continuing to partner with economy and limited-service hotel companies, with 12 hotels planned. It purchased a Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham franchise in early 2014 and opened two locations that year. It plans to have 20 hotels opened in the next two years.

The four hotels under construction are in Mossy Head, Florida; Sweetwater, Texas, near the storage center; Emerson, Georgia; and Jasper, Alabama. The Georgia site will be the first hotel on the LakePoint Sporting Community campus. The area has 1,300 acres filled with eight baseball fields, 10 softball fields, 13 soccer fields, a golf course and retail entertainment development.

The eight hotels under development include a 78-room Microtel in Enid, along with a new travel stop.

The company is also developing with Choice Hotels’ Sleep-In and Main Stay brands, Best Western International and Marriott International Inc.

Visit Enid Director Marcy Jarrett said the hotel will be welcome in the city, especially since it will be on the east side. Activity is expected to increase in the area as the Koch Nitrogen plant expands and the Northern Oklahoma College’s Enid campus grows.

“There’s a real need over there,” Jarrett said. “I think that’s a great combination to have the travel stop and the hotel there. It seems to be a win-win for the customer and that side of town.”

The travel stop will be at Highway 412 and 42nd Street, with the hotel immediately behind it. The travel stop will open in early winter.

The location starts a new direction for Love’s, as it is looking for sites away from major interstates. Media Specialist Kealey Dorian said the company opened 25 travel stops last year and expects to open that many or more this year. It did not enter any new states in 2014, but will open its first travel stop in Maryland later this year.

Dorian said Love’s is looking on other highways because it’s harder to find land these days. It is now looking at roads with truck and leisure traffic, such as State Highway 33 in Guthrie. A travel stop will open there in early winter.

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## Plutonic Panda

Spreading the love: Travel Stops to get new restaurant brands | The Journal Record

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## Plutonic Panda

Loves > About Us > Media Center > News > Love's to open more than 40 locations in 2016

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## MagzOK

Their store in north Texas just north of Denton -- t's an embarrassment of a store -- nasty, older, and teeny tiny.  It needs to be a tear-down-rebuild.

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## Plutonic Panda

Love's Travel Stops' deal to buy Trillium CNG doubles sale sites | News OK

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## jn1780

Loves is about to move their call center operations into the old West space on Memorial and Western.

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## Pete

Love’s buys Hertz building for expansion
By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record August 30, 2016

THE VILLAGE – A metro-based company is planning to grow. This week, it made sure it had the room to support expansion.

Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. purchased the Hertz Corp. building, 10401 N. Pennsylvania Ave. The building is directly south of the Love’s main campus, which is at the intersection of N. Pennsylvania Avenue and N. Hefner Road.

The building measures 120,736 square feet. Love’s also bought the surrounding 10 acres and another adjacent 6 acres.

The building was constructed in 1978, according to county records. The Oklahoma Industries Authority built the structure, on which Hertz had a long-term lease. The Oklahoma Industries Authority transferred the deed to Hertz in 2006.

Neither Hertz nor Love’s would release the sale price. The building’s market value is $7 million, according to Oklahoma County assessor data.

There are no employees in the building. They were moved in 2015 to the Northwest Expressway campus. There are information technology operations in the building, which includes computer equipment, said Bill Masterson, Hertz Corp. communications vice president.

Hertz has a lease agreement with Love’s. The travel stop company does not have immediate plans for the large space, though it is planning a renovation, said Doug Stussi, chief financial officer.

Stussi said Love’s ran out of campus expansion room in 2013, when it completed the 67,500-square-foot building for IT and accounting. Love’s also houses employees in the former Chesapeake Energy Corp. building at NW 63rd and Lake Hefner Parkway. Love’s has a call center on Memorial Road as well.

“We’ve always been looking at where we can fit people when we need to grow our business,” Stussi said.

When Love’s does get to move into the Hertz building, employees at the other campuses will be shifted around, which could leave some empty office space in the market, Stussi said, but not much.

“I don’t see ourselves throwing a lot of office space on the market because of this,” he said.

This year, Love’s is opening more than 40 stores in 28 states, which is a record number of new stores. The company also has plans to expand its truck tire care operations, its freight factoring, and its CNG refueling company, Trillium. As those areas grow, the corporate support staff will expand as well, which is when the Hertz office space will be needed, Sussi said.

Love’s has more than 390 stores in 40 states, with most sites being travel stops.

“As we add more stores, we need more people in customer service,” Stussi said. “As you add to the number of stores, you need more accounts. The boat is rising up because of the success of the business.”

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## HangryHippo

Man, Love's is one company I'd have loved to see relocate downtown.  Very glad that they're continuing to grow successfully here in the city though.

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## jn1780

Loves have been trying to buy the Hertz building for a few years now, but Hertz always wanted too much for it and they always wanted a deal to keep their disaster recovery center there.  

The Hertz building parking lot is lot bigger than it needs to be so Loves can expand onto this building if they wanted to and use the empty parking lot across the drainage canal.

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## Pete



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## warreng88

Spaced out: Love’s sees opportunity in parking

By: Molly M. Fleming  The Journal Record	January 26, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores’ 2018 growth will be fueled more by the first part of the company’s name than the second.

Vice President of Sales Jon Archard said the company isn’t done building country stores, but there are more opportunities on the travel stop side.

There are 61 country stores nationwide, and the company is adding only one to that total this year, he said.

“We’ve made some significant investment to grow our national travel center network,” he said.

In November, Love’s completed its purchase of Speedco, an oil and inspection services company. There are 52 Speedco stores nationwide. Love’s added tire care services to its travel stops in 2008.

Love’s is building more than 40 travel centers in 2018. Travel centers come with truck parking, so the company is adding about 3,100 spots along the highways.

The need for truck parking dates back to 2002, but likely even earlier. When the trucking industry was deregulated in 1980, the amount of highway truck traffic increased. The change allowed carriers to set their own prices. Carriers were able to buy fuel from anyone as well.

Since 2005, continued revisions made by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have required drivers to rest longer and more frequently.

Drivers are now spending about an hour trying to find viable parking, according to a December 2016 study by the American Transportation Research Institute. That can result in about $5,000 lost in cumulative wages.

There are about 3 million truckers on the road, and parking for only 300,000 of them, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Only about 36,000 of those spots are at rest areas. The rest are at travel stops, like Love’s.

“It’s a real issue,” Archard said. “There’s no question.”

The other challenge to the shortage, as presented in a Federal Highway Administration analysis, is that valuable highway real estate is being lost to private developments.

“Rising real estate costs make it more difficult for highway-oriented retail uses that cater to truckers to compete with other, more profitable land uses in the vicinity of highway interchanges,” the report stated. “But the cost of land, as well as potentially lengthy land use review processes at the municipal level for new sites, has made it impractical to build a large-scale, privately owned travel center in many regions with heavy truck parking demand.”

Archard said Love’s has been working for years to buy its sites, so the locations that will be built this year are the end-cap to a multi-year process.

“We’ve had a lot of people at work on these locations,” he said.

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## MagzOK

Love's is in the middle of building a new travel center at the US77 exit in North Denton on the west side of the highway.  it's replacing an old, tiny, and outdated facility a couple miles north.  It's going to be nice.  We stop at one in Santa Rosa, NM regularly when we travel that way.  It's fairly new, nice, and clean.

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## T. Jamison

Construction fencing is going up around the old Hertz Building.

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## BlackmoreRulz

> Construction fencing is going up around the old Hertz Building.


Any details been released showing what they are doing exactly to this building?

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## barrettd

> Any details been released showing what they are doing exactly to this building?


https://oklahoman.com/gallery/articleid/5636071

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## Brett

Congrats to Michael McDowell and to Love's for the NASCAR win at Daytona!  :Smiley208:

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## Plutonic Panda

https://www.oklahoman.com/restricted...F8114824002%2F

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## Jersey Boss

> https://www.oklahoman.com/restricted...F8114824002%2F


Link is not available to non subscribers :Locked:

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## OkiePoke

They are moving a manufacturing tire center to El Reno from Texas.

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## ChrisHayes

> They are moving a manufacturing tire center to El Reno from Texas.


Are they talking about the one that just opened??

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## Plutonic Panda

> Are they talking about the one that just opened??


Yes.

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