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Onvo Appoints Chief Strategy Officer, Names New Chief Operating Officer

March 13, 2023

Onvo has named Gerald Danniel as Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President to support the continued execution of Onvo’s strategic endeavors.

Gerald Danniel has been with Onvo for 20 years and has spent the last 11 and a half years as Onvo’s Chief Operating Officer. Gerald has overseen Onvo’s operations as the company expanded into new territories and rebranded from Liberty Travel Plazas to Onvo in 2020.

Jeff Byard has been appointed as Onvo’s new Chief Operating Officer. Jeff joined Onvo in 2022 as EVP of Business Development after 30+ years at Sunoco LP.

Andy Aulakh, co-founder of Onvo, said of the change “we’re excited for this new chapter for Onvo and for Jeff and Gerald. When we determined there was a need for someone to oversee the continued implementation of Onvo’s strategic plan, it was clear that Gerald was the perfect candidate for the position given his extensive experience with the company. Bringing Jeff to the COO was the logical next choice for us given the wealth of experience he brings to us from his career at Sunoco.”

Gerald Danniel
Gerald Danniel, Chief Strategy Officer & EVP
Jeff Byard Headshot
Jeff Byard, Chief Operating Officer

Onvo Launches Onvo Rewards, Unveils New App

December 6, 2021

Today, Onvo launches a new loyalty program called Onvo Rewards. The new program, designed in conjunction with Paytronix, launches with a new Onvo app, available on both Apple and Android devices.

Customers who sign up for Onvo Rewards will earn points, or Hoots, on each in-store purchase which they can then put towards rewards including free food, drinks, snacks, or fuel discounts. All customers who register for Onvo Rewards will receive a welcome reward of 10¢ off per gallon of gas, up to 20 gallons, every time they fill up for the first month of their membership.

Harman Aulakh, Marketing Manager for Onvo, said of the new program: “Onvo Rewards is an exciting new chapter for our company. The decision to launch a new loyalty program came from the desire to reward our most loyal customers with added benefits, while giving them an easy way to interface with their rewards. Onvo Rewards and the new Onvo app really provides customers with an intuitive and fun way to interact with their rewards program and with the brand as a whole.”

Customers can choose whether to use a physical card, their phone number, or a virtual card on the app to collect their Hoots, which they can then redeem for rewards in the app or on OnvoRewards.com.

Other perks of the program include referral rewards, birthday and anniversary rewards, and a buy five, get one free club program for coffee, roller grill items, and fountain sodas.

Residence Inn By Marriott Wilkes-Barre Arena Now Open!

October 8, 2021

Residence Inn by Marriott in Wilkes-Barre, PA is open for business. Located at 501 Liberty Plaza, the 111 room, all-suite Residence Inn Wilkes-Barre Arena is the sixth hotel in the Onvo portfolio.

The Residence Inn Wilkes-Barre Arena is conveniently located at Exit 168 off Interstate 81, just steps from the Mohegan Sun Arena. The location offers guests convenient access to Downtown Wilkes-Barre, Centerpointe and Hanover Industrial Parks, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, Geisinger Wyoming Valley, and many local attractions such as the Mohegan Sun Arena, Mohegan Sun Casino, Wilkes University, Kings College, and other local universities.

Residence Inn by Marriott is the global leader in the extended-stay lodging segment. As an all-suite hotel, Residence Inn offers studio and one-bedroom suites catering to guests staying five days or longer. Each suite not only offers plush sleeping quarters and ergonomic work areas, but they also feature a fully equipped kitchen with a coffee maker, microwave oven and residential-sized appliances.

The Residence Inn Wilkes-Barre Arena offers its guests amenities including a swimming pool, a 24-hour state of the art fitness center, complimentary Wi-Fi, a 24-hour onsite food and beverage market, dry cleaning services, onsite guest laundry, an outdoor patio with a fire pit and gas grill for guest use, and hot breakfast every day.

The hotel also features two meeting rooms and a business library where guests can fax, copy, and print materials. Residence Inn Wilkes-Barre Arena is a pet-friendly hotel and will be installing two electric car charging stations in the near future to ensure that the needs of all travelers are met properly.

Onvo Nominates NEPA Schools for Educational Grant, $12,000 Donated!

January 19, 2021

We’re excited to announce that each of the 24 schools we nominated for the 2020 ExxonMobil® Educational Alliance Grant have been awarded $500!

Every year, Onvo nominates schools throughout the region for the ExxonMobil® Educational Alliance Grant. The goal of the Educational Alliance grant is to provide schools with funds to put towards supporting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in the classroom. We’re firm believers in investing in the communities we serve, and we’re happy to do so by helping our local schools purchase the tools needed to provide a more advanced STEM education in the classroom.

Jonestown Elementary faculty with their Educational Alliance grant check!

The schools who are awarded this grant put this money towards tools, technology, or hands on learning experiences that help students get a better grasp on complex mathematical and scientific topics. This year, MMI Preparatory School has used their grant money to purchase Circuit Scribe circuit drawing pens and refills to provide an innovative and immersive experience when teaching students about electricity and the inner workings of electronics. In the past, schools have used the grant money to fund field trips, purchase state of the art calculators, and hire guest lecturers.

Pine Grove Area High School Science Department with their ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Poster

As dedicated members of the community, it’s our responsibility to ensure the youth of Northeast Pennsylvania have access to all of the tools they need to get the education they deserve. We do our best to nominate schools from each of the communities we serve. This year, our list consisted of schools from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area, Susquehanna county, and throughout the Poconos. The list of schools who’ve received the ExxonMobil® Educational Alliance Grant is as follows:

Blue Ridge High School

Cedar Crest High School

Holy Cross High School

Jefferson Elementary School

Jonestown Elementary School

Juniata Senior High School

Martin L. Mattei Middle School

MMI Prep

Mt. View High School

North Pocono High School

Our Lady of Peace

Penn Kidder Elementary School

Pine Grove Area High School

Riverside Elementary West

South Abington Elementary School

Stroudsburg High School

Susquehanna Community Jr/Sr High School

Susquenita High School

Tobyhanna Elementary

Wallenpaupack Area Elementary School

Weatherly High School

Western Wayne High School

Wyoming Valley Montessori

Zephyr Elementary School

Onvo Adds Three Travel Plazas In New York, Pennsylvania

December 10, 2020

Scranton, PA 12/10/20: We’re excited to announce that Onvo is now serving the communities of Fultonville, New York; Canaan, New York; and Bethel, Pennsylvania. We are looking forward to providing these communities with service that is always quick, always kind, and always convenient!

In early November, we acquired the Rainbow Pit Stop in Bethel, PA. And as of today, December 10th, we’ve acquired the AMBEST Super Stop travel plazas in Fultonville, NY and Canaan, NY. The travel plazas in Canaan and Fultonville respectively mark the third and fourth Onvo locations in upstate New York.

The Fultonville travel plaza, formerly known as the Fultonville AMBEST Super Stop, is located at Exit 28 on I-90 in New York and offers 24/7 services including diesel, showers, laundry and dining. This location will remain a part of the AMBEST network.

Ambest Logo
The Fultonville and Canaan locations, formerly known as AMBEST Super Stops, will retain their AMBEST designation!

The Canaan travel plaza, formerly known as the Canaan AMBEST Super Stop, is located at Exit B3 on I-90, and offers 24/7 amenities including diesel, a CAT Scale, showers, and dining. This location will also remain a part of the AMBEST network.

Both travel plazas in Canaan and Fultonville have been rebranded to Mobil® stations.

The Bethel Travel Plaza, formerly known as Rainbow Pit Stop, is located at Exit 13 on I-78 and offers amenities including diesel. This location, currently a Valero®, will be rebranded as a Sunoco® station, and it will also be joining the AMBEST network.

Onvo Travel Plaza – Bethel, formerly known as Rainbow Pit Stop, is set to see a full rebrand to meet Onvo brand standards. Picture by Jerry Miller.

All locations are set to be extensively remodeled in the near future.

Founded in 1988 in Tunkhannock, PA by Sonny Singh and Andy Aulakh, Onvo is a hospitality company that serves traveling motorists through a network of businesses, including 32 travel plazas and gas stations, 23 quick-service and full-service restaurants, and five hotels located throughout Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania, with the company recently branching into neighboring upstate New York.

5 Tips for Staying Healthy While On The Road

November 13, 2020

The holiday season is right around the corner, which means many Americans will be spending more time on the road traveling to visit their loved ones. If you’ve got a road trip ahead of you in the coming weeks, there is a good chance you’ll find yourself asking the question “what should I do for snacks?”

Staying healthy during long road trips can be a challenge, but it’s crucial, especially if you’re like us and plan on helping yourself to seconds (and thirds!) of every major meal this holiday season. Whether you’re traveling from Scranton to South Carolina or from NEPA to New England, the challenge of staying healthy during long car rides affects everyone!

Need a little help staying healthy while on the road? We put together some of our top tips for staying to help guide you during your holiday travels.

Family Driving in a car
Hitting the road with the family this holiday season? Stock up on snacks at Onvo!

Hydrate Hard, Hydrate Often

If you’re looking for something to healthy to drink during your next stop, skip the sugary sodas and opt for a bottle of water. If you like keeping your water cold, bring along a small cooler that you can stock up with smaller bottles at your next stop. Otherwise, opt for a big 1.5-liter bottle of water to keep you hydrated while you drive. Not only is staying hydrated important for maintaining alertness, but it also great for your body!

Coffee: Black & Hold the Sugar

Speaking of staying alert, we all could use a cup of coffee every now and then, especially after a few hours on the road. If you’re the type of person who likes to load up on the cream and sugar, next time you stop for coffee, try to cut back on the extras. It can be hard adjusting to the taste of coffee without cream and sugar, but those extras can add unnecessary calories to your afternoon pick-me up. Instead, opt for your coffee black or with a little bit of cream. In our opinion, there’s no better way to savor the taste of our bold blends than enjoying a cup without any extras!

Onvo Coffee In Front Of Mt. Cobb Travel Plaza
Grab a cup of Onvo brew! Taken from our Instagram. Follow us today!

Snack-time, But Better For You

Whoever said snacking couldn’t be healthy has obviously never stopped at an Onvo! Granola bars, assorted fruit, and yogurt are among the many guilt-free snack we stock at our locations. Next time you stop in an Onvo, take a little extra time to search out the healthier snack options. You might be surprised with what you find!

Stretch Yourself

Next time you stop, make sure to stretch your legs a bit. If you’re traveling with other people, encourage your passengers to join you for a walk around the store to get the blood flowing. Traveling long distances without spending some time to stretch can result in soreness that would lead to a pretty uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner! Simple body weight exercises like lunges are a great thing to incorporate into your pit stop routine. For a few ideas on how to get your blood flowing during your next road trip, here are 6 stretches to do while in the car or at a pit stop.

Treat Yourself

Eating healthy and exercising is important. Staying on track with your regimen is the best way to make sure you hit your health goals. That said, it’s absolutely normal and healthy to treat yourself to something salty or something sweet every now and then. Life is about balance. If you’re like us, a road trip isn’t complete without a little bit of an indulgence. We offer plenty of guilt-free options for salty snacks like SunChips® in a variety of your favorite flavors. If you have a sweet tooth, you can try Brookside® Dark Chocolate covered Pomegranate Seeds. Or just grab a bag of Lays® and some Reese’s Cups®. We aren’t judging!

Staying healthy during the holidays can be tough! But making choices that are good for you while on your road trip means that you can enjoy that second piece of pie, guilt free! Whether you’re traveling far from home or right down the street this holiday season, you can count on Onvo to help get you where you need to go. Safe travels!

Introducing Onvo: Scranton’s Liberty Travel Plazas is rebranding!

August 17, 2020

Scranton, PA: Today’s a big day for us. One for the books. We’re incredibly excited to announce that as of today, Liberty Travel Plazas will officially begin the transition to a new name: Onvo.

So, does that mean that we’re getting new owners? Absolutely not! We’re still the same team with the same goal: to provide our guests with exceptional service that is always quick, always kind, and always convenient. All that’s changed is that we have a new name and look that matches our personality!

Onvo Full Logo
Introducing Onvo: NEPA’s premier hospitality company

Now, we know you’re probably asking “what’s an Onvo?” Great question!

Onvo is the premier network of hospitality businesses that serve motorists, delivering the most comfortable, clean, and convenient locations to recharge, refuel, and refresh. You can learn more about Onvo on our About Us page.

Wondering why we decided to make this change? Well…

A few years ago we had a summit with all of our general managers, and it came to light that as a company we were having a bit of an identity crisis. A few members of our team had expressed the idea that maybe our name didn’t match the type of experience we provide to our guests. We really took this to heart. After spending some time with this feedback, we definitely agreed. As a company who prides itself on creating a vibrant experience for our guests, we felt like the name “Liberty” just didn’t live up to our fun and friendly personality. So we decided to change it!

But, why did we pick the name Onvo?

The answer to that is pretty simple: we felt the word Onvo has a nice ring to it! Don’t you agree? Onvo represents our dedication to providing a friendly, memorable experience for our guests, every time they step into our stores. We believe the name Onvo perfectly embodies the friendliness and uniqueness of our team and our services.

So, what does this change mean for the guests?

Our guests can expect the same dedication to quality and service from our team that they’ve grown accustomed to over the years. The biggest and most exciting change is that we’ll be remodeling our stores to match the standards of our amazing new brand. Think bright colors, fun graphics, and plenty of our friendly new mascot, Onvo.

Onvo Bird
Meet Onvo, our friendly new mascot!

This has been a long, exciting process for our team and we couldn’t be more thrilled to share this news with our guests and our team members. The process of changing all of our stores will take a little time, but over the next few months, you’ll start seeing more of Onvo around. In the meantime, check out this short video we recorded to learn more about the brand.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our loyal customers and our amazing team members. Without your continued support, Onvo wouldn’t be the special place that it is today.

Onvo and upwards!