Trying to Make a Buck Off a Data Center, One 6-Pack at a Time
The Elmdale Outpost convenience store in Abilene, Texas, is thriving due to its proximity to the massive $25 billion Frontier data center complex. Thousands of temporary laborers building the data center and the adjacent RV park frequent the store. This project is part of the larger Stargate initiative, which was promoted by former President Trump.
A human-interest story from Abilene, Texas, details how a local convenience store, the Elmdale Outpost, has become a booming business thanks to its location near a massive data center construction site. The store caters to thousands of temporary workers, including pipe fitters, HVAC technicians, and ironworkers, who are building the $25 billion Frontier data center complex. This facility is part of the larger, half-trillion-dollar Stargate project, which was notably promoted by then-President Trump last year as the "largest A.I. infrastructure project in history."
The convenience store, owned by Sam Holt Jr., has leveraged its proximity to the construction and an adjacent 148-acre RV park for laborers, offering a wide array of goods, particularly a large selection of cold beer, to the dust-covered workers finishing their shifts.