It’s not every day one company comes into town and brings with it two other national chains. But that is what’s happening on a 15-acre parcel of property on the west side of Prosser.

It’s been nearly a year since Love’s Travel Stops first looked to Prosser as a possible location for it’s first travel stop along Interstate 82. Now it’s just weeks from starting construction.

The location, which is close to I-82 near the Wal-Mart distribution center just outside of Grandview, and smack dab in the middle of the area’s growing wine industry – was the perfect site for a Love’s Travel Stop.

Kealey Dorian with Love’s said construction will start on the travel stop in May with the location set to open in early 2017. The building permit for the truck stop values the construction at $11 million.

The Love’s Travel Stop will include a fueling station with 18 pumps, plus seven diesel fueling positions for trucks, a nearly 10,000-sq.-ft. store with a drive-through restaurant and a truck tire center.

Dorian said Love’s stores typically carry everything from snack foods to gifts to small appliances and chargers.

“We try to be a one-stop shop,” Dorian said.

She said a lot of professional drivers don't have the time to run into town to pick up necessities — something that can be hard to do in a semi-truck and trailer. That’s one reason Love’s works to put everything they might need under one roof — be it a gift for a family member or a small coffee maker.

Dorian said the travel stop will include everything from a place for professional drivers to get a hot shower to a place where families can stop in and pick up snacks or even lunch.

The drive-through restaurant being built as part of the travel stop will be a Carl’s Jr.

While the travel stop will include everything a person needs to be comfortable on the road, the complex will also include a place where people can stop in get a little shut-eye.

The project includes the construction of a 75-room Holiday Inn Express. Dorian said work on the hotel is likely to start early this summer, with the hotel set to open in late spring 2017. The company was issued a building permit for the construction of the hotel, valued at $7 million, in April.

Dorian estimates the Love’s Travel Stop will bring anywhere from 40 to 50 jobs to the Prosser economy, with most of them being full-time positions. She said the hotel will bring another 15 or more jobs to the community.

Dorian said Love’s caters to both professional and daily drivers, and works hard to provide a clean place with friendly faces. They want to make being on the road as comfortable as possible.

The Love’s Travel Stop coming into Prosser will be the fifth Love’s location in the state, with the two nearest sites being in Ritzville and Ellensburg.

While Love’s may be a new company for many people in the area, it’s a company with a long history.

Tom and Judy Love built the first one in Oklahoma in 1964. They are known as being one of the first companies to create the idea of a convenience store. Over the past five decades the company has continually expanded and now has more than 340 locations across 40 states.

Dorian said one of the things the company is known for is when it brings in other chains – like Carl’s Jr. and Holiday Inn Express – the company becomes the franchisees for those locations.

“We will own and operate them under the Love’s name,” Dorian said.

She said Love’s itself is still a family-owned business, with the Love family at the helm.

Dorian said because Love’s is a family-owned company with small town roots, its owners work hard to make sure every travel stop becomes a part of the community where it’s built.

She said when the doors to the travel stop open, the company will donate $2,000 to a local nonprofit.

“We like to come in and contribute,” she said. “Put down roots.”