After being closed for almost four years, a popular regional NSW truck stop reopened in late June.
Located on the Newell Highway in the town of Narrabri, which sits 525 kilometres north-west of Sydney, the Shell Narrabri Truck Stop offers plenty of parking, clean showers, laundry facilities and great freshly cooked meals.
The property is owned by Nareshkumar Patel and Pankaj Berry, with Mohsin Malek coming on board as store manager.
Since reopening, the truck stop has been welcoming an average of 60-70 truckies each day.
As Malek explained, “Truckies who stop here have been very happy because we’re offering almost everything they need. We have room for around 25 trucks to park and there’s a truck rest stop just across the road too.
“For drivers travelling from Brisbane to Melbourne or Melbourne to Brisbane, this is their halfway point, so it’s a good spot to rest. Coming into Narrabri, ours is the first service station in the town. It’s a corner property, so if someone is coming from Sydney, they can see us as well. It’s also a good spot to stop for those trucks running to Adelaide from Queensland too.”
The restaurant serves good hearty meals from 5am until 10pm. For breakfast, bacon and egg rolls are popular for truckies on the go, while bacon and eggs on toast or eggs benedict are a preferred choice for those dining in.
For lunch, hamburgers are a great choice. “Our Works Burger, which is a burger with everything in it, is popular from lunch time through to dinner,” added Malek.
And on the dinner menu, think freshly cooked meat dishes with chips and salad, or mash and veggies – such as rump steak, T-bones, loin chops, crumbed cutlets, schnitzels, parmigianas, and fish and chips. “There are always plenty of options to choose from,” he said, adding that the food has been getting some great reviews.
“We have some regular truckie customers who usually stop here and have their dinner when they’re passing through this way. Some of them are here up to three times a week. Along with truckies, we get a lot of locals who come here to eat with their families.”
The Shell Narrabri Truck Stop also offers an outdoor dining area, a truckie’s lounge with TV and two good-sized showers.
“With a proper cleaner coming in twice a day, the showers are always kept clean,” Malek said.