QuikTrip to Test First Store Sans Gas

ATLANTA — QuikTrip Corp. plans to open its first convenience store without fuel pumps in midtown Atlanta this year, reported Tomorrow's News Today – Atlanta. The new store, located at the corner of Peachtree Street and 6th Street, could open its doors as soon as late May or early June.

The gas station-free store is the first for QuikTrip in nearly 30 years, when the company reportedly tested a similar store concept in Tulsa, Okla. Since then, the demand for convenience in metro areas has grown.

"We recognize that the world which we live in is changing," Mike Thornbrugh, manager of public and government affairs for QuikTrip, told What Now Atlanta Friday. "More and more people are moving back into the urban core, and there aren't a lot of options for people inside the city as far as convenience stores go."

At approximately 3,500 square feet, the store will be a little over half the size of QuikTrip's typical Gen 3 store. But like other Gen 3 stores, it will feature fresh prepared food from a full-service kitchen, a coffee bar and a fountain drink dispenser. QuikTrip plans for the store to be open 24 hours a day.

QuikTrip operates more than 700 convenience stores in 11 states. Atlanta is its largest market with 127 stores.