The Rib Mountain Travel Center in Wausau, WI is closing. The land has been sold. It will be replaced by a Dick's Sporting Goods and a Red Robin. It should not come as a surprise. The truck stop restaurant has been closed for 5 years, or more. At one time it was a good place to stop and have lunch
or breakfast. Since the restaurant closed it, I think that the C -store had been going downhill. It may be a chicken or the egg thing. Did the truck stop decline because truckers did not spend enough money in there, or did truckers stop spending money there because the truck stop declined?
I think that it closed, mainly because the value of the land increased. When the truck stop opened in 1988 there was not much around it. In the lot adjacent to the fuel stop a Mc Donalds and a Texas Road House were built. A Wal Mart store opened near by. Truckers wore a path to the strip mall next door. Trucker patronized the restaurant there.
Why did the truck stop close? Clearly local government was glad to see it go. One town supervisor told WAOW television “It's a real win for the town and for the people to have the type of development, and 
to not have the truck traffic that often gums up the works on Rib Mountain Drive”. The truth is most urbanized areas see truck stops as a nuisance. They would rather not have them there. Changes in zoning laws can also make truck stops be less attractive. By increasing the value of the land, while not changing the revenue from the truck stop, it becomes more attractive to sell the land, than to operate the truck stop.
This truck stop closing was not anyone's fault. Everyone acted in their own best interest. In a capitalist economy that is what we are supposed to do. For me as an owner operator, I made a lot of runs across 29 between Green Bay and the twin cities, stopping at the rural truck stops was quicker (more fuel efficient) than battling the urban traffic on Rib Mountain Drive. The government officials see more jobs and more revenue from alternative usage. The truck stop owner looked at increasing land value and decreasing business, and stopped reinvesting in the truck stop. Then they maximized their profit by selling the land.
Trucking evolves and things change. The availability of truck parking is directly correlated to the value
of land. That presents a problem. Find ways to encourage customers to allow overnight truck parking. More flexible delivery times would be helpful. Quicker unloads and drop and hooks should be encouraged. Like always, truckers need to be innovative and make choices to solve problems.