QuikTrip, an Oklahoma-based convenience store chain, is moving into Central Texas with nine new stores and plans for many more in the Austin and San Antonio areas. Construction has started on the first set of new stores, which are all expected to open this fall. QuikTrip announced in 2017 plans for Central Texas expansion with an expected 100 new stores in the region. The chain already has 140 locations in North Texas, mostly right around Dallas and Fort Worth.
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In a release announcing the plan for new QT stores, QuikTrip CEO Chet Cadieux said, "We've heard from a number of enthusiastic QT fans in San Antonio and Austin familiar with us from their travels, urging us to expand there. Both San Antonio and Austin are really hot markets right now and we cannot wait to join the exciting landscape in those two great communities. If you aren't familiar with us yet, you are in for a real treat!"
The chain's expansion places them in a head to head competition with Texas favorite Buc-ee's. QuikTrip also focuses on being more than just a gas station with amenities like their in-store QT Kitchen, which offers made fresh to order food, including pizza, sandwiches, and specialty drinks.
Austin 360 reported a list of the new store locations, noting that seven of the new stores are being built on undeveloped land, while two of them are taking the place of banks that closed last year. The new Texas locations are:
- 221 E. Parmer Lane, Austin
- 861 E. Braker Lane, Austin
- 501 W. Wells Branch Pkwy., Austin
- 2723 S. Lakeline Blvd., Austin
- West New Hope Drive and U.S. 183, Cedar Park
- West Whitestone Boulevard and West New Hope Drive, Cedar Park
- 3901 Williams Drive, Georgetown
- 901 Louis Henna Blvd., Round Rock
- 2251 S. Mays St., Round Rock
While Buc-ee's is still first on GasBuddy's list of customer-ranked Top 10 Gas Station Brands, QuikTrip is not far behind in the #4 spot on the list. However, lat year, GasBuddy also released a new customer survey that places QuikTrip as the #1 spot in Texas for highest-rated restrooms, beating out Buc-ee's (it also swept the bathroom competition in Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and the Carolinas).
The QuikTrip Corporation, headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has over 750 locations in cities in 11 states across America, including Charlotte, North Carolina, Greenville, South Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia. According to Forbes, it's one of the largest private companies in the United States and has over 20,000 employees. QuikTrip has made Fortune magazine's list of Best Companies to Work For every year for the last 15 years.