The long-awaited Nambucca Heads servo opened on Thursday with minimal fanfare.
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Word seemed to spread quickly overnight with people pouring into the station during peak morning traffic.
There were a few locals reticent to visit the centre until it housed the golden arches and big red bucket.
The two fast food heavyweights are expected to be fully fitted out by October at the latest.
Some locals will also be disappointed to hear it confirmed by operations staff that Krispy Kremes won’t be coming to the valley.
The rumour which was circulated by local fake news site The North Coast Chronicle raised expectations among locals keen to get their hands on the sugar-iced doughnuts.
There is no official word as yet about the fate of Boost Juice which was reported earlier this year to be in negotiations for the remaining franchise spot within the travel centre.
While signage is up for the KFC and MacDonalds outlets, there is a notable absence of brand signage for the popular juice and smoothie company.
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Most people who visited the newly opened centre yesterday afternoon dropped in on a whim and were generally impressed with its features.
WATCH: a walk-through of some of the new service centre’s features
The first customer of the day, Nambucca Heads local Aaron Pembroke, was on his way home from his butcher shop in Urunga when a sneaky peak to check on the progress of the service centre landed him with a free tank of fuel as the first official customer.
Aaron said he’ll be using the new centre regularly to top up before his fishing trips up north.
Ray and Dot Walsh dropped by on their way back from their shopping trip to Toormina and were excited to see the service centre open.
“On the way up to Toormina we stopped by but it wasn’t ready yet so we topped up $10 at the Caltex at Coffs,” Ray said.
“But we’ll be coming here from now on, this will be really handy for us.
“I said to Dot that we’ll even have to come by for a meal one time soon.”
Clarke Hema trucks Hardie board products up and back from Sydney to Brisbane daily and was the first high-flow diesel customer for the day, and the first to make use of the new shower amenities.
“This is sorta my new half-way point,” Clarke said.
“I used to stop in at the one in Clybucca all the time, but it looks like I’ll be coming here from now on.
“It looks pretty good.”
But the real test of the centre’s capability will come in five months during the Summer peak holiday season.