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Clear skies. Low 62F. Winds light and variable..
Clear skies. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: August 21, 2022 @ 7:41 pm
A walkway connects the two parts of the Emporia Service Area on the Kansas Turnpike. The turnpike is seeking proposals for new restaurants in Emporia and Matfield Green.
A walkway connects the two parts of the Emporia Service Area on the Kansas Turnpike. The turnpike is seeking proposals for new restaurants in Emporia and Matfield Green.
Travelers on the Kansas Turnpike could have some new dining options next year.
The turnpike authority announced Friday that it’s seeking bids from restaurant operators for the Emporia and Matfield Green service areas, as well as Topeka and Towanda.
“The initial term for the new contracts will be ten years,” an introduction to the request form says. The contract would begin Saturday, April 15, 2023.
The emphasis is on “quick service” vendors, which the restaurant industry used to call “fast food.”
But beloved local favorites need not apply.
“The restaurant concept must be a nationally recognized, distinctive restaurant brand name,” the form says. It also must serve a breakfast menu.
The request form warns against “captive audience” overcharging for travelers, along the lines of some motel vending machines.
“Prices charged by the Operator for food and beverages must be considered by the Authority to be reasonable and competitive with similar off-pike operations in the general vicinity of the Turnpike,” it says.
Restaurant operators pay the authority a monthly rent based on gross sales.
Heartland Restaurants LLC of Topeka currently operates the Dunkin and Hardee’s locations at Matfield Green. Hardee’s closes at 9 p.m. The KTA is looking for a restaurant that will remain open until at least 11 p.m.
The McDonald’s restaurant at the Emporia service area has a separate agreement with the turnpike.
It’s unclear whether those contracts are being canceled or simply are expiring. A message left with a KTA official who oversees business services was not returned for this story.
The convenience store and fuel sides of the service areas are not changing. The KTA notes EZ GO at Matfield Green is under contract through February 2027. The Emporia store is Fast and Friendly.
The deadline for submitting a restaurant “operator experience package” to the KTA is Thursday, September 29. The contracts are scheduled to be awarded in early January.
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