Wally’s: A Tourist Attraction Travel Center
There is, in the United States, a chain of convenience stores and travel centers known as Buc-ee’s. Chances are you’ve heard of them, either because you’ve passed through one, or you know someone who did. Buc-ee’s has achieved a cult status all its own, enough that people often stop there just to make an event of it.
Someone else has been paying attention. In 2020, the first Wally’s opened in Pontiac, Illinois. In 2022, a second one opened in Fenton, near I-270 and I-44. The company has plans for two more: one in Whitestown, Indiana, on I-65 northwest of Indianapolis, and one on I-70 in Independence, Missouri.
The first location makes complete sense if you know anything about the backstory and the drive. Wally’s came about after two cousins from rural Missouri — the fuel supplier is a company out of Cuba, Missouri, owned by one of the cousins’ family — drove back to Missouri through Colorado. The boring drive (and if you’ve driven from Colorado to Missouri as I have, you know it’s boring) inspired the two to launch a travel station that would inject life into an unexciting drive. They chose another less-than-exciting stretch of road, I-55 between St. Louis and Chicago, building a 30,000 square-foot, orange-themed complex right off the interstate.
We’ll touch on both existing locations here, but I’m going to focus in particular on the one in Pontiac, as it’s both the first location and also the one St. Louisans may have less familiarity with. Trust me when I say, though, that if you have any reason to drive to Chicago, the “Home of the Great American Road Trip” is a stop worth making.
Getting There
As of mid-2025, Wally’s has two locations: the first location in Pontiac, Illinois (Google Maps link) and the second location in Fenton (Google Maps link). The first location is about 3 hours (roughly 200 miles) from St. Louis, more if you live in St. Charles and less if you live in the Metro East. The second location is on I-44 just a stone’s throw west of I-270; if you take the interchange on 270 to 44 West, you’ll see the Fenton location on your right in short order. Both are right off the highway and easy to get to.
Parking
Wally’s is big. Very big. Both travel centers have over 70 gas pumps, four standalone EV charging stations under a dedicated canopy, and additional parking all around.
The lots can be busy with traffic on account of all the cars coming and going, but finding a spot to gas up or park has never been a problem for us.
Costs and Considerations
Like pretty much any travel center, parking is free. You can’t stay overnight, but you definitely can take a load off for a while. We’ve parked in the Pontiac location lot to eat a packed lunch, and we’ve seen others do the same.
Of course, if you’re looking to spend money, Wally’s will happily take it off your hands, starting with gas.
Things to Do
The moment you step into Wally’s you start to realize that this isn’t a typical gas station. One part of the building is dedicated to a gift shop, with Wally’s accessories and apparel galore. The travel center leans into the cult.
Another section of the building plays host to islands of vendor-style kiosks. Here you can get hot dogs, sandwiches, jerky, ice cream, and multiple varieties of popcorn.
It looks and smells amazing, really, a veritable trap for any parent just trying to get to the bathroom.
The bathrooms, incidentally, are in a third part of the store, and they’re huge. Both the men’s and women’s restrooms have dozens of stalls — and urinals on the men’s side — plus plenty of washbasins and hand dryers. (The restrooms used to have combination faucets / soap dispensers / dryers built into the sinks, but as of mid-2025 they’ve been replaced with normal faucets, standalone soap dispensers, and wall-mounted dryers.) We’ve never seen a line in the restrooms, and we seemingly always spot workers tidying up even as the public moves through. It’s as clean as any gas station restrooms we’ve seen.
Just outside the restrooms are snacks and drinks, including rows of food items and necessities, wall fridges stocked with drinks, and a broad drink station serving up soda, coffee, and even slushies … err, Slooshes.
The soft drink variety is impressive enough by itself, with various brands, including some things you don’t see everywhere.
Our Thoughts
We regularly make the trip up I-55 from St. Louis to the Chicagoland area, passing by Wally’s each way. More often than not, we don’t just drive along — it’s a good location to stop, use the restroom, gas up … and maybe break down and buy a snack or drink or three. It’s a brilliant way to break up a tedious drive, a bit of excitement along the flat plains of Illinois.
We don’t doubt that St. Louisans are liable to stop into the Fenton location if they’re in the area. And if you need to head north on 55, Wally’s is a great pit stop on the Great American Road Trip.
