In November of last year, Lawrence and Brian Handlos along with general manager, John Anderson made the announcement they would be constructing a truck stop and hotel in Audubon at a site near the airport. That project will still be taking place and work will be getting underway in the near future, but Brian Handlos said it was just a little over 90 days ago, city leaders from Templeton contacted the family and asked if they would be interested in developing a Waspy’s Truck Stop in their community.
Lawrence and Brian said things came together very quickly and the groundwork got underway Thursday morning, thanks to the hard work of the Templeton community. At a groundbreaking ceremony last night, the family explained that the Templeton Truck Stop will consist of a large convenience store that offers 24/7 access with fast food selections, an automatic car wash with multiple options and a wide array of fuels, including flex fuels, bio and diesel islands, red fuels and kerosene. The building will sit on approximately 6.3 acres and the remainder of the 10-acre area will be reserved for future growth. Brian Handlos said they have developed the plans based on the current needs of the 5,000+ vehicles a day that pass by on the Highway 141 and 71 intersection, the elevator in Templeton along with the future distillery. There was one other demographic the truck stop will cater to as well.
Anderson said he and the Handlos family will be the general contractors on the project and will be completing the groundwork necessary for construction themselves. They are currently gathering information from local contractors and have outlined an aggressive timeline with expected completion this fall. Previous estimates of the number of employees needed has been scaled back, and they are now expecting to hire between 25 and 30 employees to operate the site. Waspy’s Truck Stop will be located on Ivy Ave. and 305th Street, just to the north of the Highway 71 and 141 intersection.
