I've never seen the sign, but maybe the Chamber of Commerce is leaning into the "Lebanon" name or something?

A growing number of truckers are from the Middle East and India. The One9/Sinclair fuel station in Strafford has Indian food, it's also right next door to a McDonalds. One9 and McDonald's share a road sign in Strafford, and they also have several billboards approaching Strafford on I-44.

It was an Indian language I think.

https://i.imgur.com/jpmW6Mi.png

Is this the sign?

Yes! Thank you for the photo. I realize now that it’s a sign for multiple establishments, we just couldn’t tell driving by at night at 70mph and thought the whole board was for McDonald’s.

Yes, we aren’t super educated on other languages and it’s hard to pinpoint when driving by. We also figured out it’s for multiple establishments which makes much more sense.

Thank you! We seem to only notice any billboards at night since we can’t see anything else. Then we get so caught up in trying to figure out the sign that we didn’t realize it was for multiple places 😂

It’s Hindi

If the writing looks like cursive, but isn't, it's Arabic.

There's a guide out there to tell what the language is by its appearance, even if you can't read it, and I'll see if I can find it.

This is it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/comments/1scggr/quick_guide_to_differentiating_between_asian/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

It's not Arabic, not sure what it is but definitely not Arabic.

If you’re out on the road and see one of these truck stops go! The Indian food is out of this world.

Indian. For the Indian truck drivers to go to the Indian restaurant.

It's Hindi.

I saw a similar sign. It’s an Indian language. If I recall correctly the one I saw was for an Indian food buffet at a gas station. I saw similar ones on a road trip from Memphis to Amarillo this summer. Lots of Indian truckers in the US.

It's Hindi. There are a lot of Indian truck drivers on I-44 so the truck stops frequently have small Indian restaurants or food counters for travelers, (called Dhabas). There's a place in Joplin that has zero chicken samosas. Ever. There's just an empty bin and a nice lady who says 'I'm all out, would you like vegetarian?' Every single damn time. I'm starting to question the existence of the chicken ones at all.

Veg are better anyways. Safer from a food prep standpoint.

Yeah, and probably healthier overall. And they're a decent snack. Still, I wonder what the chicken ones would taste like... if they exist.

Not the same exit, but exit 13 near Joplin has increíble Indian food. It has a sign in Hindi too. Normally you wouldnt think food from a gas station could be good. It's called Rasoi and at the Big Apple Travel Center.

Probably like the veg ones but with a little chicken :) samosas are strong flavors when done correctly. The chicken in my opinion doesn't change the flavor much

Chicken samosas are not that common in my experience, Indian food is wonderful for vegetarians like myself because there is a history of vegetarianism baked into the religious practice of Hinduism https://www.alimentarium.org/en/fact-sheet/vegetarianism-hinduism

Saw that this weekend! Definitely going to stop there next time I’m on the road and need a snack.

Depends. I've had some that definitely were very chicken tasting. Wal Mart actually sells a frozen variety that I like with that most western of flavors, tikka masala. The vegetable samosas at that place are okay, but just okay. Nothing like what you'd find in a sit down restaurant, but on par with what you'd expect at a convenience store. More just convenience food. I like them but they definitely require a sauce on the side. Too much potato and not enough of anything else.

Many Sikhs are on the trucking biz so that makes sense.

It’s 100% Hindi! Growing number of truckers are being brought from India on visas to meet the shortage in the US. Interstate stops and restaurants are catering to bring business. The truck stop outside Joplin (Big Apple I think) does some kickass thalis.

Thank you! I love the illustrations, it’s very helpful haha

Although the sign isn’t in Arabic, there are a growing # of Arabic speaking families in the Ozarks. There are estimated over 3000 families from the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) in the Springfield area alone.