PDQ Notifies of Layoffs as Sale to Kwik Trip Nears

MIDDLETON, Wis. — Following its acquisition by Kwik Trip Inc., PDQ Food Stores will lay off the majority of its 313 employees the week of Oct. 9, the company stated in a filing with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

The filing did not include six PDQ stores in the Milwaukee area, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

La Crosse-based Kwik Trip announced in July that it is buying all 34 of Middleton-based PDQ's company-operated convenience stores in southern Wisconsin, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Most of the acquired PDQ stores are located in Dane County. Kwik Trip has stated that it hopes to finalize the deal in October and plans to spend $30 million to $35 million to "re-image" the purchased stores into Kwik Trip-branded sites.

In its filing, PDQ stated that on Oct. 9 it will close six stores affecting 55 employees in Madison, Fitchburg, Waukesha and Kenosha; on Oct. 10, it will close six stores with 52 employees in Middleton, Madison and Waukesha; on Oct. 11, it will close seven stores with 93 employees in Madison, Middleton and Kenosha; on. Oct. 12, it will close five stores with 60 employees; and on Oct. 13, it will close three stores in Madison with 25 employees.

Kwik Trip also previously stated that approximately 1,000 jobs will be created after the acquisition is finalized because it will double or triple the number of people that PDQ employs at each store. Current PDQ employees are not guaranteed a job with Kwik Trip but have been encouraged to apply, the news outlet reported.

According to the filing, 28 people who work at PDQ's corporate offices in Middleton will also be laid off between Oct. 13 and Jan. 31.

Kwik Trip is a family-owned company with more than 400 convenience stores across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. It also operates its own bakery, commissary, dairy, distribution warehouse, and vehicle maintenance divisions.