MARK WAITE / PVT Fort Amargosa has closed up lock, stock and barrel, leaving Nevada Joe's as the only site between Pahrump and Beatty for groceries. Advertisement

LATHROP WELLS -- Larry Gray of Beatty, said he was losing money, which is the reason he closed the Fort Amargosa truck stop on Highway 95 effective Oct. 1.

The truck stop was boarded up, but the 90-slip recreational vehicle park is still open behind it. The gas pumps are also sealed up.

Gray has the truck stop and 12 acres of land up for sale, but no buyers are in sight yet.

The closure means Nevada Joe's restaurant, convenience store and gas station across the street is the only place to stop at Lathrop Wells at the junction of Highway 95 and 373.

Gray confirmed reports he was losing close to $5,000 per month on the place.

"There's multiple problems why that does or doesn't succeed. The main reason is when you're doing 75 mph you don't stop unless you really know the place," Gray said. "In Beatty you have to slow down and come to a complete stop. It's not that hard to stop then."

Gray took over the business four years ago from the original owner who built the place from the ground up. He said 15 employees were thrown out of work with the closure.

Talk of the Yucca Mountain project and the surrounding development he called "a pipe dream."

Gray owns Lost River Trading Company in Beatty, where he is also the chairman of the Beatty town advisory board.

The Fast Trip gas station across the highway in Lathrop Wells wanted the market and priced themselves accordingly, Gray said. He couldn't compete.

There were regular customers at Fort Amargosa however, Gray said.

"We had people who religiously drove 15 miles one way for breakfast or lunch. That will tell you there's nothing in Amargosa for these people," Gray said.

"We had a lot of customers. It's unfortunate we closed. I can only subsidize something for so long," Gray said.