Where We Buy: Retail Real Estate with James Cook

Wally's: Home of the Great American Road Trip - Where We Buy #391

July 10, 2026·35 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Michael Rubenstein is CEO of Wally's, a rapidly growing travel center brand known as the "Home of the Great American Road Trip." Michael takes us on a tour of the company's third and largest location, a 53,000-square-foot facility in Whitestown, Indiana, and explains how Wally's is redefining the travel stop experience. He covers the company's origins, its retro Americana branding, an expansive food program featuring in-house chefs and made-from-scratch items, a massive retail section with original merchandise, and the real estate strategy behind site selection. Rubenstein also discusses private label products, EV charging, dwell time, and plans for a fourth location in Kansas City. James Cook is the Director of Retail Research in the Americas for JLL.  Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify  Listen: WhereWeBuy.show  Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com  YouTube: http://everythingweknow.show/ Read more retail research here:  http://www.us.jll.com/retail Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.

Podzilla Summary coming soon

Sign up to get notified when the full AI-powered summary is ready.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.

Listen to This Episode

Get summaries like this every morning.

Free AI-powered recaps of Where We Buy: Retail Real Estate with James Cook and your other favorite podcasts, delivered to your inbox.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.