EZ Travel Center officially opens in Columbus

ONE STOP SHOP FOR ALL

Indian food, chili, sandwiches or fast food. Want a purse? A bit bored and need some entertainment? The EZ Travel Center has everything you need.

The one stop shop for travelers has officially fully opened to the people of Columbus, Colorado County or any travelers zooming down the restricted lanes of I-10, located on the outskirts of Columbus at 4301 US-90.

A haven of sorts for road-trippers, truckers or anybody looking to buy anything, the center features multiple state-of-the –art gas and diesel pumps fully equipped with brand new touchscreens and wireless pump-paying options, showers, a dog-park, a lounge/entertainment area, four indoor restaurants and shelves filled to the brim with anything you need from Pepsi, to perfume.

The owners of EZ Travel Center, Jagtar Thethy and his wife Devi Thethy wanted to bring a one-of-a-kind travel center to Colorado County, having started construction earlier this year, slowly opening bits and pieces of the travel center to the public.

“We started construction this year around April, so it took us about nine months to build it,” said Jagtar. “We opened the gas station, Indian and chili restaurant about a month and a half ago and then opened the Sonic and Jimmy John this past week. We’re fully operational now, up and running. This is a center built for basically everybody: kids, adults, seniors, anyone.”

Jagtar says the variety in food options going forward will allow everyone within a traveling party to be satisfied with their choice of food, whether your a family whose kids just want fast food while you eat something healthy or a foodie looking for new flavors.

“There are choices for everybody,” said Jagtar. “And that’s why we bring different varieties of food. One family might have kids who only want Sonic and then other consumers might want to try something more healthy like Jimmy Johns or Tandoori Spice Express.”

The Jimmy Johns located at the EZ Travel Center is the only location within a 40-mile radius, making it a one-off addition to restaurants in the Columbus area. Jagtar says the reason why he chose to bring a Jimmy Johns location to the travel center was due to his love for the sandwich shop after eating there for years while working in downtown Houston.

“I worked downtown before,” said Jagtar. “And our office was right above the Jimmy Johns in the tunnel of the Houston downtown area. Their sandwich were my thing and I loved it. I was looking at the customers there and thought, “you know what, Jimmy Johns, slices meat every morning. After four hours they consider their bread to be day old. The freshness of the food is important to me. That is what it is all about.”

Jagtar said that the travel center serves as a one stop shop for any needs whether consumers are traveling or not, allowing them to only have to stop at the travel center to check off anything they’re looking to purchase.

“You can make a full stop, pump gas, get a drink, alcohol or food or anything you want,” said Jagtar. “We’ve got novelties and a clothing section here. We have toys, purses, everything you need. Everything on a full grocery list.”

One of the main reasons Jagtar says the EZ Travel Center was built where it was is due to the attractiveness of the location. He says that given it is a reasonable distance from the three main cities in Colorado County and is accessible to both sides of the interstate heading east and west, it was an easy decision.

“Location, location, location,” said Jagtar. “It is very accessible for three different cities; Eagle Lake, Weimer and Columbus, and it’s not far from Sealy. It was an ideal location, with most folks around that area, locals, travelers, etc. Also having access to the freeway going east and west, the traffic coming from west heading east, they can pass over the bridge and access our property same way going west, right on 10. It’s more accessible for travelers.”

Having come from the oil and gas industry working as a mechanical engineer, Jagtar says the travel center is more of a passion project for him and his wife, who also wanted to bring the flavors of their home country and region, Northern India, to Colorado County and Texans alike.

They previously owned a restaurant in Houston where Jagtar worked as a tandoor chef and his wife worked as a curry chef. The two got inspired by Jagtar’s brother, who operates four of his own Indian restaurants in Finland, to bring their idea, Tandoori Spice Express, to life in Columbus.

“I still have my day job,” said Jagtar. “I’m still working in oil and gas. I’m a mechanical engineer by profession. My wife quit her job and is now handling this project. She will basically be the general manager for the whole plaza here once things get up and running.”

Jagtar says the travel center is actively hiring at the moment and are looking to fill positions as soon as possible.

“We are still hiring staff members,” said Jagtar. “If anybody available wants to join our team, please apply. We’re a very people driven team, so staff is our backbone.”