The World's Largest Truck Stop Has Served Over 23 Million Eggs (And Counting)

The (self-proclaimed) world's largest truck stop, Iowa 80, has been referred to as Disneyland for truckers. Located in eastern Iowa on Interstate 80 near Walcott, it does seem to have everything a professional truck driver might need or want, whether it's a hot shower, a haircut, even dental work, plus there's a movie theater, workout room, and food — lots and lots of food. From Taco Bell to the family-owned Iowa 80 Kitchen, the massive travel center has six different restaurants on its sprawling 225-acre property that includes a 125,000-square-foot main building. It's been serving food 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since it opened its door in 1964.

This all helps to explain how the Iowa 80 Kitchen has managed to serve more than 23 million eggs (so far). Perhaps it also has something to do with the fact Iowa produces the most eggs in the U.S. With a 50-foot breakfast buffet, an omelet bar, and breakfast dishes available any time day or night, you can see where all those eggs go. They go into the bellies of the 6,000 customers a day, many of them truckers who fill the 900 parking spots set aside just for big rigs. This place makes the world's largest Buc-ee's, which stands at around 75,000 square feet, look like a mini-mart.

Iowa 80's founder Bill Moon was working for Standard Oil when he found the perfect spot for a truck stop in 1964. This was just as the country's new interstate system was being built and began transforming the American landscape. When Iowa 80 started, it had a small store, a tiny automotive shop, and a restaurant, but the Moon family kept expanding the business – 33 times so far — into the massive truck stop it is today, with the Iowa 80 Kitchen growing along with it.

Besides the jaw-dropping number of eggs the truck stop's signature restaurant has served over the years, the kitchen cooks up around 60 pounds of bacon on a daily basis, just one item among the various other dishes, from meatloaf to sweet cream pancakes, that the 20-member kitchen staff prepares, mainly from scratch. The idea of a truck stop pumping out quality food plays into celebrity chef and TV personality Andrew Zimmern's belief that your next great meal might come from a gas station. So if you find yourself on I-80 in Iowa, be sure to stop into Iowa 80 and belly up to the (food) bar. And if you're extra hungry, order the popular Hungryman breakfast — it, of course, comes with eggs.