Introduction
What if one of the biggest opportunities in business was hiding in an abandoned gas station?
In 1964, Tom and Judy Love took a chance on a small service station in Watonga, Oklahoma, using $5,000 to begin a business that would eventually become one of America's leading travel stop networks. They started small, expanded into convenience retail, and eventually developed a business serving professional truck drivers and everyday travelers across the country.
Their approach was built on recognizing what customers needed and making ordinary stops more convenient. From combining gasoline with grocery items to developing full-service travel stops along major highways, the Loves continually expanded their business around the needs of people on the road.
Today, Love’s Travel Stops remains family-owned and operated, with hundreds of locations across the United States. Here's how Tom and Judy Love built the company, the business decisions that fueled its growth, and how their family continues their legacy.
From an Abandoned Gas Station to a Growing Business
The Love’s story began in 1964 when Tom and Judy Love leased an abandoned service station in Watonga, a small community northwest of Oklahoma City. Their initial investment of $5,000 gave them an opportunity to enter the fuel business without the expense of building a station from scratch.
The company initially operated under the name Musket Corporation. Rather than relying on a single location, the Loves pursued opportunities to lease and operate additional service stations, particularly in smaller communities across Oklahoma and the surrounding region.
Their early growth came from a straightforward business model. By taking over existing stations, they could establish operations without having to develop entirely new properties. The company gradually expanded its footprint, building experience in fuel retail, store operations, and customer service.
The business grew to 40 stores within its first eight years. That achievement established the foundation for a much larger company, but Tom and Judy were not content to remain in traditional gasoline retail.
They recognized that customers needed more than fuel, particularly when traveling through smaller communities or driving long distances. That observation would lead to one of the company's most important early innovations.
The Country Store Idea That Expanded the Business
In 1972, Tom Love introduced a new concept in Guymon, Oklahoma: a store combining self-service gasoline with grocery and convenience items.
The original Country Store offered fuel alongside products such as bread, milk, and other everyday essentials. It also operated extended hours, seven days a week, making it easier for customers to purchase necessities without visiting separate businesses.
The Guymon location was the first store in the nation to combine self-service gasoline with grocery items. This combination helped establish a retail format that would become central to the company's growth.
The idea addressed a practical customer need while creating additional sales opportunities. Instead of depending entirely on fuel purchases, the business could serve customers looking for groceries and other convenience products during the same visit.
In 1978, Love’s Country Stores, Inc. was established, reflecting the company's development beyond its original service-station operations.
This change was significant because it demonstrated how the business could expand by improving an existing customer experience rather than abandoning its original market. Fuel remained essential, but the addition of convenience retail gave customers more reasons to stop and helped establish a model that could be repeated at new locations.
Entering the Travel Stop Business in 1981
The next major turning point came in 1981, when Tom and Judy Love opened their first Love’s Travel Stop in Amarillo, Texas, along Interstate 40.
The location was designed to serve professional truck drivers as well as other motorists traveling long distances. Unlike a conventional gas station, a travel stop could provide a broader range of services suited to people spending hours or days on the road.
Commercial drivers needed dependable places to refuel, purchase food, take breaks, and access essential amenities. Other travelers also benefited from convenient fuel, restrooms, refreshments, and places to pause during long journeys.
Love’s developed its travel stop model around these needs. Over time, the company's locations expanded their offerings to include truck parking, showers, restaurant options, and vehicle maintenance services.
The approach gave Love’s an opportunity to serve an important segment of the transportation industry while continuing to welcome everyday motorists. Instead of competing only to sell gasoline, the company was building a network of locations designed to make road travel more convenient.
The first travel stop also marked the beginning of a broader geographic strategy. By expanding along interstate highways and transportation corridors, Love’s could serve drivers moving between states and build a recognizable presence across the country.
How Love’s Built a Nationwide Network
Love’s expanded gradually from its Oklahoma roots, adding locations and developing the services available at each stop. Its growth was supported by the combination of fuel retail, convenience stores, food offerings, and services for commercial vehicles.
As the business matured, Love’s became more than a chain of travel stops. The wider Love’s family of companies developed complementary operations that support its core business, including fuel supply, transportation, logistics, and truck maintenance.
Musket Corporation, the company's original business, grew into a commodity supply, trading, and logistics operation. Gemini Motor Transport supports the movement of fuel and other products, while Love’s Truck Care and Speedco provide maintenance services for commercial vehicles.
These operations complement the company's retail locations by supporting different parts of the transportation and fuel supply chain.
The business also expanded its service offering as customer needs changed. Beyond traditional gasoline and diesel, Love’s has invested in alternative fueling solutions and other services for motorists and commercial drivers.
This broader model helps explain how the company developed from a small service-station operation into a substantial national business. Rather than depending on one product or customer group, Love’s built a network of related services around the needs of people and businesses traveling on American roads.
The Role of Family Ownership
Family ownership has remained a defining feature of Love’s throughout its growth. Tom and Judy Love built the company together, and their children became involved as the business developed into a national operation.
Judy played an important role in the company's development, including managing its finances and supporting its expansion. Her contribution was an essential part of the partnership behind the business, even as Tom became its best-known public figure.
Tom Love continued guiding the company for decades, serving as its founder and executive chairman. He died on March 7, 2023, at the age of 85. His death marked the end of his direct leadership, but the family remained committed to continuing the business he and Judy had established.
Judy Love, the company's co-founder, died on November 5, 2024, at the age of 87. Her legacy extends beyond the company's growth to her philanthropic work and the family's longstanding commitment to community organizations.
The business continues under the involvement of the Love family and its management team. Love’s has emphasized its commitment to the principles associated with its founders, including customer focus, integrity, work ethic, innovation, and perseverance.
Its privately held structure also distinguishes it from publicly traded competitors. Because Love’s does not disclose financial information in the same way a public company does, estimates of its revenue, market value, and the Love family's wealth should be evaluated separately and attributed to reliable sources when cited.
Love’s Travel Stops Today
Love’s has grown into one of the leading travel stop networks in the United States. It operates 681 Love’s locations across 42 states and employs more than 40,000 people.
The company provides professional drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to gasoline, diesel fuel, coffee, food, convenience products, and other travel essentials. Its focus on clean facilities and customer service is reflected in its longstanding brand promise: “Clean Places, Friendly Faces.”
Love’s also has a substantial truck maintenance operation. The company reports more than 430 truck service centers across its Love’s Truck Care and Speedco network. Together, these operations form a nationwide network for oil changes, preventive maintenance, and other truck-care services.
The company's expansion continues through new location openings, renovations, and investments in services for commercial drivers and other travelers. Its official news releases regularly announce developments across different states, demonstrating that growth remains an active part of its strategy.
Love’s also serves a broader range of motorists than it did in its early years. In addition to professional truck drivers, its locations cater to families, recreational vehicle travelers, and other people using the highway system.
The company remains privately owned and operated by the Love family. While its exact current market valuation is not publicly established, its operating footprint demonstrates the scale of the business built from the original Watonga service station.
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Tom and Judy Love
The Love family’s journey illustrates the importance of identifying a real customer need and finding a practical way to meet it. Their business did not begin with an entirely new product. It began with an existing service station and developed by improving what customers could access during each visit.
The Country Store concept expanded the business beyond gasoline, while the travel stop model brought together fuel, food, amenities, and truck services. Each development built on the company's existing experience and addressed additional customer needs.
Their story also highlights the value of incremental growth. The Loves expanded from one leased station to 40 stores, introduced a differentiated retail format, and eventually developed a nationwide travel stop network. Rather than relying on a single breakthrough, they built a business through successive improvements and investments.
Another lesson is the importance of understanding different customer groups. Professional truck drivers have distinct requirements, including parking, showers, fuel, and vehicle maintenance. Families and other motorists have different priorities. By serving these needs within one network, Love’s developed a business with multiple reasons for customers to return.
Finally, the company shows how a family business can evolve over generations while retaining its original identity. Tom and Judy Love established the foundation, their family helped expand it, and the company continues to build on the values that shaped its early years.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who founded Love’s Travel Stops?
Tom Love and his wife, Judy Love, co-founded the business in 1964. They began by leasing an abandoned service station in Watonga, Oklahoma, with a $5,000 investment. The company eventually grew into Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, a nationwide travel retail network.
2. How did Tom and Judy Love start their business?
The Loves began by leasing and operating an existing service station rather than building a new one. They expanded into additional locations and later introduced the Country Store concept, which combined self-service gasoline with grocery and convenience items.
3. When did Love’s open its first travel stop?
Love’s opened its first travel stop in 1981 in Amarillo, Texas, along Interstate 40. The location served professional truck drivers and other motorists, providing a wider range of services than a conventional gas station.
4. How many Love’s locations are there?
Love’s official company website reports 681 locations across 42 states. The company also reports more than 40,000 employees and over 430 truck service centers. These are company-published figures and may change as locations open or operations expand.
5. Is Love’s Travel Stops still family-owned?
Yes. Love’s remains family-owned and operated. Tom and Judy Love founded the company, and their family continues to be involved in the business alongside its management team.
Conclusion
Tom and Judy Love turned a $5,000 investment in an abandoned Oklahoma service station into the foundation of a nationally recognized business. Their willingness to expand beyond traditional fuel retail helped establish the Country Store concept and, later, a travel stop network designed to serve professional drivers and everyday motorists.
Their growth came from a series of practical decisions: expanding into convenience retail, developing services for long-distance travelers, and building a network of locations along important transportation routes. Each step gave customers more reasons to stop and helped the company develop a broader role in American travel and transportation.
Today, Love’s continues to operate as a family-owned business, with hundreds of locations and a growing range of services for drivers. The company's history demonstrates that long-term growth can come from understanding ordinary needs, improving existing experiences, and building a business that customers can depend on.
The legacy of Tom and Judy Love is ultimately a story of partnership, customer focus, and sustained growth. What began with one service station became a nationwide network because the founders continued to look for ways to make the journey better for the people who stopped along the way.
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