The big electric billboard towering above Interstate Highway 90 flashes enticements to motorists passing the Hampshire exit.
“Meat Loaf … Harley-Davidson Telephones … Lasagne … CB Radios … Sunday Church Services … Salad Bar … Briefcases … Oil Change ($94.95) … Lotto …”
It seems there’s something for almost everyone at the Elgin West Truck Stop.
About 55 miles west of the Loop along the Northwest Tollway, the Elgin West sits along with two other truck stops and a fast-food restaurant at the Hampshire exit and is an oasis for travelers who arrive and depart in steady streams. There’s the weary salesman in need of coffee, the vacationing family of four stopping for a bathroom break and a country band’s road crew in search of an early morning meal.
A larger share of business comes from long-distance haulers, who drop by for fuel, food, showers, repairs, scales, phones, supplies, entertainment, cash or sleep. With more than 2.5 million truckers on the road, it’s a huge business, and it’s competitive.
Inside the unassuming walls of the Elgin West Truck Stop, there’s a busy little community of workers ready to serve all the drivers who come their way-from truckers to commuters.
The drivers can find most everything they might need in the 10,000-square-foot complex, with its family-style restaurant, retail store, truck driver’s lounge, private showers, arcade games, and ever-busy fuel desk.
On the stop’s sprawling grounds, where the rumble and fumes from the diesel rigs fill the air, are a service garage, certified truck scale, gas and diesel pumps, and a parking lot that will handle 110 rigs.
Most of the operations at the truck stop are open 24 hours. “It takes a lot to impress a truck driver,” said Stanley Appelbaum, 55, of Maggie Valley, N.C., who stopped over recently. “This is my first time here, but I’ll remember this place. I’m impressed with its cleanliness. The service here is great, too. When I sit down, I got to eat and run.”
Fellow trucker Pat Pratt is a regular at Elgin West, where he escapes the rigors of the road, grabs some food and visits someone special.
“I come here quite often,” said Pratt, 50, of Bozeman, Mont. “I like the food and atmosphere. Plus, I’m engaged to one of the waitresses.”
Jerry Lindley, owner-operator of the Elgin West Truck Stop, said he is out to serve everyone, no matter what kind of vehicle they drive.
After nearly two decades at that spot, Lindley says his efforts have paid off with repeat business.
“Retailing is a matter of head count. If you don’t get that, you don’t make it,” said Lindley, of Algonquin, who worked several years as an executive for a grocery store chain until opening Elgin West 18 years ago. “My competition could be 100 miles away.”
In addition to efficiency, Lindley and his employees believe that a smile and kind word keep people coming back.
“He’s got just a dandy place up there,” said Roger King, spokesman for NATSO, an Alexandria, Va., organization that represents 3,000 truck stops and travel centers nationwide. “It’s always the one we refer people to as a great place to go to when they’re up that way.”
Lindley operates the business as a franchise with the National Auto Truck Stops chain, which last July bought dozens of Union 76 facilities like Lindley’s. The Unocal logo still marks the Elgin West because of a licensing agreement made between Union 76 and Nashville-based National, according to Bill Osborne, National’s president and CEO.
“Elgin West has a very good reputation. There’s a lot of pride in ownership (there),” said Osborne.
Inside the complex, the aroma of food draws vistors to Mr. J’s Restaurant, where plates clatter and waitresses hustle around the clock.
“You can have breakfast, liver or a steak dinner at 3 in the morning,” said Spiros Patsiaris, who has managed the 200-seat eatery for 14 years. “We have a dozen specials going every day.”
The 37 employees, including a wait staff of 25, feed more than 1,000 people a day, with as many as 60 percent of them being truckers, he said.
In an average week, Mr. J’s will serve 7,200 eggs, 2,500 hamburgers and 100 gallons of biscuit gravy, said Patsiaris, seated at one of the 30 booths equipped with a telephone.
“It’s a steady pace all the time. We’re always moving,”said Patsiaris, 42, of Elgin, who expects business to jump once tourist season begins in May. “By July, it’s nuts.”
Because of the variety of diners the restaurant serves, business can sometimes be unpredictable, said Patsiaris.
“It’s not a routine like every other restaurant,” he said. “After a while, you become a sort of psychologist.”
Just as important as serving good food, though, is keeping a competent staff, he said.
Her nine-year stint at Mr. J’s has made server Kathy Norton, who has worked all three shifts, develop “people skills.”
“It was real challenging at first, but I learned how to deal with the different attitudes of the customers,” said Norton, 33, of Belvidere. “You want to judge what their attitude is before you talk to them. If you walk up to them and they don’t say anything, they probably want to be left alone.”
Norton also has mastered the basics: Truckers are on the run, which means quick service; other travelers want to rest, which allows Norton to take her time.
In between serving customers, Norton describes the people she has served, from Tammy Wynette’s roadies to several Amish families to the truckers.
One of Norton’s favorite memories is a night several years ago when the power went out due to a snowstorm that closed down I-90. Workers and customers were stuck in the dining room.
“I was here 18 hours, serving cold coffee. The heat was out, so we had to get sweatshirts from the store,” she recalled.
Like other waitresses, Norton has withstood rude remarks, but she also has learned how to deal with them.
“There are people who are obnoxious. You just don’t take everything to heart,” she said.
Next to Mr. J’s is the brightly lit store, where the inventory could rival that of an old Ben Franklin. Shoppers and curosity seekers can pass the time roaming the aisles filled with snacks, cold remedies, toys, jewelry, audio cassettes, makeup, mechanic’s tools, charcoal, knickknacks, hunting knives, reading materials, carpet samples, boom boxes, framed artwork and electronic items.
There’s even a sizable clothing department where a person can be outfitted, down to the shoes.
“We have a little of everything,” said store manager Phyllis Lindquist, 47, of Hampshire. “These truckers live out of their trucks and like to have a place to stock up. Some want to buy presents for their families or wives.”
The hot sellers of late include Harley merchandise, the vibrating seat cushion, and, as always, CB radios, she said.
Genoa resident Judy Gay, 54, is one of the two employees who help Lindquist with the store.
“The clothes sell pretty well, especially funny shirts, like the `road kill’ T-shirts. Belt buckles are popular too,” she said. “The most popular thing we sell to truckers is antennas.”
During her six years at the store, Gay has even seen celebrities like Johnny Cash, Bob Denver and Merle Haggard do some shopping.
“Johnny Cash buys an Indian picture every time he comes in,” which is usually every summer when he has shows in the area, said Gay.
Near the north edge of the retail operation sits the fuel desk, where at any given time two or more workers scramble around processing fuel purchases, operating the scales, doling out cash advances from money transfers, issuing various truckers permits and handing out towels to drivers renting shower stalls.
On one Thursday afternoon, Julie Starkey and Mickey Brummett handled the constant influx of truckers pumping diesel into the 100-gallon tanks. Most of the drivers are affectionatley called “Hon” or “Babe.”
“There’s more to this job than ringing up fuel sales. This is the heartbeat of the truck stop,” said Starkey, assistant manager of the fuel desk, which serves only truckers and pumps 300,000 to 400,000 gallons of fuel a month.
In addition to handling the various desk tasks in a timely manner, Starkey said treating the customers well is important.
“I’m a people person. These are my drivers. I have to expedite that fuel purchase so they can get back on the road. And I treat that man right. Who knows what kind of trip he’s had?” said Starkey, 37, of Elgin, who has worked at the stop for three years. “These (truckers) are not just a number on a card. I get to know these drivers by heart.”
It’s that familiar and friendly service that brings them back, said Kyle Lindley, the fuel desk manager and the owner’s son.
“A lot of these guys just want somebody to talk to,” he said. “As long as you do that, they’ll keep coming back.”
Nearby stairs lead up to the shower and lounge area, which, according to a sign posted midway up the steps, is for “Professional Drivers Only.”
In this area, truckers can use one of the individual shower rooms, which come with sink and toilet; wash their clothes in the laundry facility and relax in the darkened television room, which resembles a tiny movie theater with its rows of seats and big-screen monitor.
If they don’t have time for a complete rest stop, truckers and other drivers can find momentary distraction in the video games scattered throughout the complex.
Some may be waiting for their rig to be repaired in the garage, which services trucks and cars.
Inside the two cavernous bays, the mechanics can change oil, tires and brakes; fix hoses; figure out electrical problems and about anything else that doesn’t take more than five hours, according to mechanic Charles Hawkins.
In keeping with the truck stop’s grand scale, the stock rooms off the main garage are filled with oversized parts and tools. One of the tool boxes, which stands almost 6 feet high, contains $40,000 worth of tools, said Hawkins, who has worked at Elgin West for nearly nine months.
Like everyplace else in the truck stop, speed is important at the garage.
“We try to take care of drivers the best we can and get them back on the road fast. Most of our stuff is rush, rush, rush. They’re always in a hurry and always behind,” said Hawkins, 33, of Kirkland. “I can change a truck’s oil in 25 minutes and a tire in seven minutes.”
One of the busiest spots at Elgin West is the free truck parking area, where drivers can park their rigs overnight.
“It’s not as noisy here as some of the others (in the Chicago area),” said Norman Fitzpatrick, a 49-year-old independent hauler from Sturgis, S.D., who regularly stops at Elgin West.
Appelbaum likes the lot because it doesn’t have huge potholes and it’s free.
There is another feature that both men say they appreciate.
“I don’t have any problems with lot lizards,” he said, referring to prostitutes who sometime hang out at stops.
