The mission to bring Britain’s oldest truck stop up to date continues with a brand-new state-of-the-art kitchen.
TheStop at The Hollies, based just off J12 on the M6 in Cannock, is renowned among truckers and locals alike for its home cooked pies and tasty breakfasts, serving around 5,000 customers a week.
Now, after two months operating out of a canteen van with a reduced menu, the café – affectionately known as Lil’s - is back in action, with customers heralding the return of homely food from its much-improved kitchen and seating area.
David Weaver, roadside services truckstop manager, said: “We are excited to have a brand-new kitchen.
“Not only does it mean the return of our infamous homemade meals, but we’ve also got this fantastic, modern space where we can provide a much more efficient and eco-friendly service.”
He added: “We are known for serving top notch food at The Hollies but for two months we’ve been serving burgers and sausage butties out of a canteen van.
“It’s great to be able to provide home cooked meals again and, dare I say, better than ever.
“We’ve designed the kitchen using appliances with the best energy efficiency ratings and installed oil traps and an oil drain, so oils such as used chip fat are collected and recycled rather than wasted.
“Who knows, maybe one day our used chip fat oil will be converted into hydrotreated vegetable oil and used as an alternative fuel too.”
The new kitchen is the latest in a line of improvements carried out by owners Certas Energy, which acquired the site three years ago.
So far, more than £800,000 has been spent on the site, supported by grants from the DfT, which funds a scheme to help improve services and conditions for truck drivers across the UK and reduce carbon emissions within the haulage sector.
As a 24-hour HGV refuelling site, The Hollies caters for up to 60 HGVs at a time, with drivers stopping for their 45 minute break or staying overnight either in their cabs or in the 15 bedroom hotel.
Other improvements include re-concreting the car park, refitting the bar and improving security with CCTV.
Future plans include refurbishing the shower facilities, installing solar panels and introducing HVO refuelling and EV charging.
Weaver said: “I’d like to say a big thank you to the customers and staff for their patience and resilience over the past two months.
“The Hollies is a real community for both truckers and locals and we want everyone to feel safe and welcome.
“Our team has gone out of their way to continue providing a fantastic service during the renovations, we’ve even had staff members walking a customer’s dog this morning - you can’t ask for more than that.”
The Hollies, TheStop is the first truck stop operated by Certas Energy’s roadside services division.
Following major investment, the UK’s oldest – and an award-winning – truck stop boasts a café, bar, 15-room hotel, washroom facilities, gaming area, laundrette, truck wash and HGV refuelling bunker.
It also offers improved parking facilities, with 220 secure HGV parking spaces per night, as well as on-site security guards and CCTV monitoring.
