Pilot Travel Center celebrates remodeling with ribbon cutting

FLORENCE, S.C. – Pilot Travel Center in Florence has undergone a complete renovation just in time for Labor Day weekend. The store is off I-95 on North Williston Road.

The event was celebrated with a ribbon cutting with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and its ambassadors on Friday. The Pilot Company also presented a $20,000 check to Florence 1 School District for its video game design course and robotics program.

Chris Rogers and Greg Hall were on hand to accept the ceremonial check during the ribbon cutting for the school district. Rogers is director of STEM education for Florence 1 Schools. Hall is assistant superintendent of Florence 1 Schools.

Rogers said the contribution from Pilot Company will help with the robotics program at Williams Middle School, providing robotics kits. Some of the funding will be used to start a new video design course in the high schools, he said.

Hall said the district is grateful for the business partnerships in the community and contributions like the one presented to Florence 1 Schools by Pilot. He said the donation will go directly to improving the quality of education in Florence 1 Schools.

“We are appreciative of Pilot for their donation to our schools,” Hall said.

Pilot Company teamed up with Monster Energy for its biggest store remodeling celebration to date at the Pilot Travel Center in Florence, the company said. The event featured BMX bikers, social media influencers, and Monster Energy girls. The remodeling celebration took place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pilot Travel Center in Florence.

This fully refreshed travel center is a part of Pilot Company’s nationwide initiative, called New Horizons, to invest $1 billion in remodeling its stores to upgrade the experience for team members and guests, and prepare for the future of travel, the company said in a media advisory.

“We figured there was no better way to kick off the Labor Day festivities in Florence than with some bike tricks, Monster Energy freebies, swag, and gas card giveaways,” said Allison Cornish, vice president of store modernization at Pilot Company. “Our team worked hard to make these renovations happen quickly, and we’re looking forward to celebrating them as they continue to serve the Florence community and everyday travelers.”

Pilot Regional Manager Richard Bronson said the Pilot Travel Center, 3006 N. Williston Road, was overhauled from curb to counter. The company plans to redo all its existing stores, he said.

Labor Day weekend was the perfect time to celebrate the remodeling of this store with all the activities going on in the area, including the race in Darlington and the last summer weekend at the beach, he said, adding this is the exit for the beach traffic off I-95.

“It is a very busy and successful location,” he said.

Bronson said he grew up in Florence, attended South Florence High School and started his career with the company at this store.

Tthe renovations to this store in particular meant a lot to him, he said

“We remodeled the entire facility,” he said. “We shut Wendy’s down for a month.”

He said Pilot is happy to be a part of the success and growth in Florence and to re-establish its commitment to Florence and surrounding counties.

Upgrades included new kitchen, deli with additional grab-and-go items like sandwiches, salad and fresh-cut fruit and a hot deli with pizza and wings; expanded beverage selection including a walk-in beer cave; Wendy’s remodeling, four new self-checkouts; new and remodeled restrooms; new showers and refreshed public laundry space.

Brittany McLeod is the new store manager. She has been with the company for about seven years.

“I am very excited for her,” Bronson said.

Bronson said the company typically does something in the community when it remodels or opens a new store.

The travel center is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Bronson said.

To celebrate the remodeling, a special one-time deal is being offered through Oct. 2 for 25 percent off food and beverage at the store by using the promo code “PFJDriver” in the myRewards Plus app, the company said.

The company is also offering a 10-cent discount on every gallon of gas through Oct. 31 and deals on popular brands to save in-store with the myRewards Plus app.

For more information about New Horizons, a three-year project to fully remodel more than 400 Pilot and Flying J travel centers, visit pilotflyingj.com/new-horizons, and to learn more about the new 10-cent discount, visit pilotflyingj.com/rewards.

Pilot Travel Centers LLC (“Pilot Company”) was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. Pilot Company has grown to more than 800 retail and fueling locations, and as the third largest tanker fleet in North America, supplies more than 14 billion gallons of fuel per year to the market. Its Pilot and Flying J travel center network includes over 750 locations in 44 states and six Canadian provinces.