QuikTrip is closing its gas-less Atlanta convenience store on Friday because of the unsafe environment for customers and employees, according to Aisha Jefferson, corporate communications manager for QuikTrip.
“Eight years ago, we opened our first non-gas store on Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta as a pilot concept,” Jefferson said. “On May 3, we’re bringing that pilot concept to a close.”
“It’s critically important to us that every location across our 1,000-plus store footprint nationwide delivers the in-store experience that QT customers have come to know, love, and expect,” she said, adding that the company regularly evaluates its stores to ensure they meet performance metrics and expectations around customer and employee safety. “After evaluating this store, we decided it was not consistently meeting our expectations.”
Jefferson said this location, which was a pilot concept for the company’s non-fuel locations, will serve as a “learning experience” to help build the brand as QuikTrip expands in metropolitan areas nationwide.
While QuikTrip will end its non-gas pilot in Midtown, the company is “more committed to Atlanta than ever,” Jefferson said.
With new locations in the greater Atlanta metro area, Jefferson said QuikTrip “is in the process of identifying a new Atlanta location for a full-service QT that we hope to have online within the next two to three years.”
Jefferson also added that the company is taking a different approach than many in the industry and retail sector when addressing public safety issues.
“We are trying to take a comprehensive approach to create meaningful change in the communities where we operate, including Atlanta,” she said. “That is why we work with local community organizations that positively impact the root causes, often at the heart of public safety issues such as homelessness, addiction, and youth services.”
QuikTrip isn’t the only convenience-store retailer shuttering nonfuel urban locations. Sheetz and Wawa, struggled with safety and security at its urban locations forcing a store closure last year.
- QuikTrip is No. 9 on CSP’s 2024 Top 40 Update to the 2023 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Watch for the full 2024 Top 202 ranking in the June issue of CSP magazine and in CSP Daily News.
QuikTrip is a privately held company. Founded in 1958, the chain now operates more than 900 stores in 17 states.
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