New American Auto Stop Center in North Stonington, Connecticut

Those travelling along Interstate 95 to visit the casinos, beaches, and other attractions now have a new place where they can stop to relax, unwind, shop, and eat.

I first noticed the new American Auto Stop Center when travelling on Interstate 95 and seeing the new decals placed on the blue "Food" sign mentioning "Sbarro" and "Roy Rogers". I got off the highway and after driving only a short distance, saw the brand new 25,000 square foot American Auto Stop Center building with red and white trim, so new it had no actual sign on the building, only a banner mentioning the various restaurants within it. In fact, the Roy Rogers Restaurant Web site, stated the center opened in January 2008.

The travel center is located at 273 Clarks Falls Road, nestled near the Connecticut/Rhode Island border at exit 93 and replaces an aging truck stop called New Republic which had been closed for quite a while. It is located near the junction of Routes 216 and 184 and is in the Clarks Falls section of North Stonington, not far from Ashaway, Rhode Island.

The American Auto Stop Center is only 10 miles away from Foxwoods Resort Casino, the largest resort casino in the world in Ledyard, CT, also known as Mashantucket.

Upon driving up to American Auto Stop Center, I noticed the recent plantings alongside a concrete sidewalk. The sidewalk straddled between a parking area and large black windows looking into the building.

According to Roady's Truck Stops Web site, the center has 120 parking spaces for trucks and another 70 spaces for cars.

To meet your hunger and thirst needs, you can always get convenience store items or visit one of the three restaurants there which consist of Stuckey's, Roy Rogers, and Sbarro. Stuckey's is a full service deli and restaurant with its own seating area in the back left corner of the building. Roy Rogers and Sbarro, near the center back of the store, share a food court style seating area nestled near the front left section of the store.

According to the Sbarro Web site, Sbarro is an Italian eatery specializing in fast-food style pasta and pizza with 1,000 locations in 15 countries.

According to the Roy Rogers Restaurant Web site, Roy Rogers' menu features roast beef, chicken, and hamburgers, and the Fixin's Bar where customers can customize their sandwiches.

For Connecticut, this is the second Roy Rogers restaurant. The other Roy Rogers is located in the northern part of Connecticut in Manchester at 394 Tolland Turnpike near Interstate 84 exit 63.

This is the first fast-food establishment in southeastern Connecticut serving roast beef sandwiches after Arby's closed its restaurant which used to be located in the Crystal Mall Food Court in nearby Waterford.

For Roy Rogers, the new restaurant gives hope to a fast food chain that raised questions for some when restaurants in Connecticut suddenly closed. According to the Caldor Rainbow Web Site, in 2007, Roy Rogers suddenly closed its eateries on U.S. Route 5 and Connecticut Route 15, the Berlin Turnpike, in Newington and on U.S. Route 5 in North Haven near Interstate 91.

This Roy Rogers, part of the Roy Rogers Franchise Company, has signed a long-term franchise agreement with Super Value, CT, LLC, the operator of the American Auto Stop.

According to a press release on the Roy Rogers Restaurants Web site, Jim Plamondon, co-president of Roy Rogers Franchise Company, said, "We are pleased to partner with Michael Dattilo and his organization," said "They bring great operational experience and have hospitality experience as well. These attributes will result in a first class operation and support our strategy of Roy Rogers being a cut-above fast food restaurants."

This will be the 36th franchised location for Roy Rogers.

Dattilo is a member of Super Value, CT, LLC and his group of companies, based in Spring Valley, Rockland County, New York work on wholesale and retail distribution of petroleum products. They own and operate a network of gasoline service stations/convenience stores in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Dattilo is also President and sole Shareholder of DGG Properties in Connecticut which owns and operates the 200-unit hotel property of Water's Edge Resort and Spa in Westbrook, CT.

According to Roady's Truck Stops Web site, in total, there are approximately 100 seats for patrons from the two seating areas. Throughout the center, customers with laptops can access the wireless Internet and diners can eat their food while talking on phones located near tables.

The restaurants are located in a spacious building with plenty of sunlight streaming in resembling with merchandise found in a convenience store and a gift shop. The convenience store/gift shop is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A Shell gasoline station near the building has 10 gasoline fueling stations and 9 diesel fueling stations and is also open 24/7.

Dattilo has plenty of hope that this will meet the needs of those travelling along busy Interstate 95. The American Auto Stop "will be the premiere travel center for the motoring public and will be the favorite destination for travelers through the area," Dattilo said, adding, "It will be a state of the art travel center that will provide truckers with air conditioning, heat, telephone, cable, and movies in the comfort of their vehicle without having to idle the engines. A truck driver may choose to make reservations to guarantee a parking space to avoid the time and fuel of searching for an acceptable place to park and rest."

The facility has 70 Idle Aire spaces and CB sales, ATM, satellite pumps, and smart fuel readers along with six showers, a public copier, public fax, video rental, driver television lounge, and laundry services.

According to Cab Aire, LLC, the Idle Aire addresses needs which were expressed by the Town of North Stonington and centered on reducing toxic diesel emissions, reducing diesel engine noise, and eliminating ambient light pollution. In fact, it is the first truck idle reduction in the state.

According to Roady's Truck Stops Web site, American Auto Stop has package and letter services available which include DHL, FedEx, TripPak, and UPS.
Accepted credit cards include American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa while accepted fuel cards include Comdata, EFS, Fleet One, Multi-Serve, T-Check, TCH, TransPlatinum, Transfunds, and Wright Express.

With these truck services, it is expected to lighten truck traffic which currently uses the North Stonington Rest Area/Visitor Information Center located on Interstate 95 South near exit 92. That site has restrooms, vending machines, pay phones, picnic tables, tourist information, and parking for cars and trucks.

Nearby lodging to American Auto Stop Center is available at the 22-room Budget Inn located next door at 593 Providence New London Turnpike. According to Expedia and Travel Yahoo Web sites, this exterior corridor hotel has economy pricing and features a number of services including irons and ironing boards, desks, dial-up Internet access, hair dryers by request, cable TV with HBO, coffee/tea maker, complimentary local calls, and designated rooms have refrigerators and microwaves.

For other food options, customers can visit Tim Horton's, Dunkin' Donuts, and McDonald's, all located within walking distance of American Auto Stop Center.