Fat Dogs
Grand Island, Nebraska – After just over eight years of development, Wilkinson Companies opened its largest Truck and Travel site in Nebraska this week. Positioned just north of Interstate 80 and south of the Platte River at exit 312, the Fat Dog’s site came with a multitude of challenges to accomplish the opening. After purchasing the site, Fat Dog’s worked with civil engineers in cooperation with NDOT to determine the best ingress and egress for the property while including state safety standards for the busy I-80 and 281 corridors.
The Fat Dogs’ brand has evolved since the purchase of the property which demanded additional requirements for the public improvements to the intersection. “Safety and accessibility for traffic was the number one priority for this development”, said Mark Wilkinson, also known as Fat Dog. “It came with a hefty price tag for us”. Wilkinson, along with his father Gil Wilkinson, have developed the brand for almost 30 years and have collected commercial development sites across Nebraska even longer. The brand and its edginess have coined the taglines, “Girth Matters” and “You are Nowhere” and most recently priding itself with the label, “WE ARE NEBRASKA”.
The company, a Nebraska owned and operated corporation, spans the State of Nebraska, from Sidney to Lincoln. Grand Island opened exactly one month after the new Fat Dogs Lincoln Truck and Travel Center at the Airport exit, also just off I-80. Each store adds its own niche to the brand and the colorful unique murals on the upper high walls of each store spotlights the local community and individuality of the area; spotlighting sports mascots and local attractions to the mix of mouthy female profiles and characters.
Lincoln has a large graffiti mural including Abraham Lincoln and Tom Osborne. The new sites are open 24/7, 365 and offer hot food and deli and an array of convenience items for both the business professional, family, and truck traffic. The Grand Island site is unique with its extensive upper floor Trucker Lounge with an elevator, large exercise room and showers. Laundry facilities and lounge facilities with skill machines and televisions invite drivers to stop and relax through required break times. Additional Tenant space is available for lease inside and outside of the building and on both floors.
Wilkinson Companies currently has just over 300 employees and operate 9 gas stations and 4 hotels. The brand is also adding a new site in North Platte on I-80 at exit 179 with an opening in quarter 1 of 2025.