Large Travel Center & New Restaurants Coming To Mercedes

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Large Travel Center & New Restaurants Coming To Mercedes

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A new travel center in Mercedes will feature a 12,000-square-foot main area with a Wendy's, a deli, store and a large number of bathrooms. (Courtesy)
A new travel center in Mercedes will feature a 12,000-square-foot main area with a Wendy’s, a deli, store and a large number of bathrooms. (Courtesy)

The Expressway 83 space near the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets will soon have a major restaurant and fueling stop development as a 12,000-square-foot travel center comes to Mercedes.

Waxahachie-based Victron Energy Inc. has broken ground on the development, which will be located on the intersection of the expressway’s frontage road and Mile 2 E Road. The travel center will serve as the centerpiece of the development, which will also include a Wendy’s, a deli, gift shop, a large convenience store, and large and clean bathrooms that will include showers. A Chick-fil-A will open next door to the travel center.

Chick-fil-A is among the mix in a new travel center development coming to Mercedes near the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets. (Courtesy)
Chick-fil-A is among the mix in a new travel center development coming to Mercedes near the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets. (Courtesy)

Mohamed Sharaf, Victron’s vice president for development, said the travel center will be reminiscent of a Buc-ee’s, but with its own style and look that will reflect the ranching history and livestock shows of Mercedes. He called the travel center the first of its kind in the Rio Grande Valley. It will also feature numerous gas pumps stations to fuel up.

A Sound Investment In Mercedes

Victron knows about the latter. Victron is a major fuel distributor for ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, Texaco and Conoco. The Dallas-area company owns many convenience stores across Texas and is active in retail and property development across the state. Sharaf’s father, Ali Sharaf, founded the company in 1986 with the acquisition of a single convenience store. From that starting point, the Sharaf family has built and grown the company to become one of the nation’s premier fuel distributors.

“This is a community I wanted to invest in,” Sharaf said of Mercedes. “Everyone in the city has been nothing but kind and accommodating to what we want to do.”

Sharaf said the city’s spot in the middle of the Valley was a key factor in investing in Mercedes. He called it “a wonderful location,” with easy access to two major airports and the outlet mall.

“I can’t think of a better location,” said Sharaf, who will also be the travel center’s owner. “It speaks to the strength of Mercedes that companies want to invest here.”

The development is expected to open in early 2023. Mercedes leaders lauded the news and said the city will see additional developments in the months ahead.

“This will be a great addition to Mercedes and the area along the expressway near the mall,” Mayor Oscar Montoya said. “The city has a lot to offer and we have more land along the expressway for even more development.”

A new travel center in Mercedes will be reminiscent of a Buc-ee's but will have its own style reflecting the culture and history of the city. (Courtesy)
A new travel center in Mercedes will be reminiscent of a Buc-ee’s but will have its own style reflecting the culture and history of the city. (Courtesy)

Ricardo D. Cavazos is a Rio Grande Valley native and journalist who has worked as a reporter, editor and publisher at Texas newspapers. Cavazos formerly worked as a reporter and editorial writer at The Brownsville Herald, Dallas Times Herald, Corpus Christi Caller-Times and San Antonio Light. He served as editor of The Monitor in McAllen from 1991-1998 and from there served for 15 years as publisher at The Herald in Brownsville. Cavazos has been providing content for the Valley Business Report since 2018.

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