With a population of less than 4,000 people, the town of Gothenburg, Nebraska is home to Cubby’s Truck Plaza which includes a truck stop, full deli, and even a smaller gas station across the street for quick access. Despite the town’s size, Cubby’s Convenience Store is a bustling hub for everything from morning coffee and conversation to a full chicken dinner.
Tammy Bonifas is passionate about customer service and is grateful to have a team at Cubby’s Convenience Store that shares her values of hard work and strong customer service. “I have a great bunch of people that I work with, they’re pretty awesome. They work their tails off,” she said. Because of this, the Gothenburg Cubby’s Convenience Store has been selected as Cubby’s Store of the Month! Having only been managing the Truck Stop since November, the manager of the two-store operation feels extremely grateful to have been selected.
Cubby’s is home to a veritable round table that takes place each morning in the dining area. Bonifas describes these regulars as local, “coffee drinkers and donut eaters. I ask them before they leave every day if they’ve solved the world’s problems yet. Some of them come in two to three times a day just to chat,” bringing in old family photos as well as ones of Gothenburg as it had been in years past.
Even when people come into the station with car troubles, Bonifas seizes each challenge as an opportunity to show how much she cares. “There’s not many people that you can’t get ahold of in this town,” said Bonifas, and finds it rewarding whenever she can help someone out of a tough spot. In fact, she’ll even call friends and family to help a stranger. “If somebody’s car is broken down out here and I can make a call, and somebody from town can help out without charging them an arm and a leg; I like that,” said Bonifas.
One traveler, for example, was headed from Iowa to Colorado but made an emergency stop at Cubby’s when one of his trailer tires blew out on the highway. Tammy immediately called her husband, who “brought out the tire and helped him change it,” going above and beyond to help while gaining a customer for life.