I didn't want to hijack the TA thread, but wondered if many know about the Patriot Farms restaurants. They are found at 4 truck stops that used to be Petro, but are now Flying J - hey, no Denny's here! - Carnesville, GA, Elkton, MD, Ruther Glen, VA and Florence, SC. There's an interesting story behind this. All 4 of these Petro truck stops were under franchise by the same owner. At some point, TA management told this owner that he would have to start buying all the restaurant food from the TA food service. That didn't suit the owner at all, so he refused. TA said, "We'll cancel your franchise contract"; he said "OK with me," and proceeded to contract with Flying J, still as a franchise. These restaurants are former Iron Skillets; they've kept the best of those, and added some really good and different stuff. We visited the one at Ruther Glen, VA. I had a Cottage Pie, which is ground beef and vegetables simmered together, then topped with REAL mashed potatoes and cheese. It was really good, and Something Different (hard to find at a truck stop), and reasonable. They also had Crab Cakes that looked really good - both sandwiches and dinners. Lots of other stuff - big menu.
I've been referring to the owner as "he", for simplicity, but it isn't so. A la Paul Harvey, there's a Rest of the Story. The owner of these 4 very nice truck stops is...Howard Johnson!
When we arrived at Ruther Glen (exit 104 on I-95, some call it Carmel Church), we headed for the Pilot, to use their WiFi. But it wasn't there; it had turned into a Love's! And across the street, what used to be Petro had a temporary cloth Flying J sign. Being quite puzzled, we drove back across I-95 to the Flying J (we thought), and now it's labeled Petro! Twilight Zone moment...
I've been referring to the owner as "he", for simplicity, but it isn't so. A la Paul Harvey, there's a Rest of the Story. The owner of these 4 very nice truck stops is...Howard Johnson!
When we arrived at Ruther Glen (exit 104 on I-95, some call it Carmel Church), we headed for the Pilot, to use their WiFi. But it wasn't there; it had turned into a Love's! And across the street, what used to be Petro had a temporary cloth Flying J sign. Being quite puzzled, we drove back across I-95 to the Flying J (we thought), and now it's labeled Petro! Twilight Zone moment...