I hate Kwik Trip

[Geo-TH,In]

Hmm. If they're "destroying" other businesses, doesn't that mean customers prefer what they're offering to what the existing businesses offer?

A few weeks ago we drove through several small towns in eastern Colorado looking for a restaurant. We had to drive a hundred miles to find one that was open. There were no Kwik Trips or similar businesses to compete with the local restaurants, there just wasn't anything open. I think people's habits changed when that thing we can't talk about happened a few years ago.

Mark
I'm a fan of Loves when traveling because of their clean bathrooms and good junk food. we usually don't do a sit down meal when on the road, We have bookmarked our favorite motels and great places to eat. I was told junk food calories don't count when on vacation,

 

[MarkB_MI]

Mark
I'm a fan of Loves when traveling because of their clean bathrooms and good junk food. we usually don't do a sit down meal when on the road, We have bookmarked our favorite motels and great places to eat. I was told junk food calories don't count when on vacation,

My wife and I also like Loves. We began stopping there with the camper because they usually have lots of room around the auto pumps and if those are full we'll use a truck pump. They're very consistent and clean. Loves is definitely our favorite truck stop chain.

Our usual routine when traveling (without the camper) is to load up at the hotel's free breakfast, then don't stop for meals until we stop for the night. Snacks and lots of coffee in between.

 

[GChief]

Loves

They also have a row of overnight RV hook ups at many locations.

 

[Rich'sToys]

All our town has is Casey's, but the town on either side of us has Kwik Trips. We buy a lot of our milk from them because it's quite a bit cheaper. I picked up a gallon from Casey's once when we were in a pinch. For another dollar I could have gotten two gallons at Kwik Trip!

We don't buy hot food from them, but things like take & bake pizza, chicken salad, doughnuts, and the like. We really enjoy those.

Wish we had one in our town, but I doubt Casey's would ever let that happen.

 

[Ray,IN]

Why don't we all just admit all this began with WalMart driving out local businesses from small towns. This is the U.S..A., if you don't like one store go elsewhere to shop and eat. That is Capitalism.
The problem is, Americans are hooked on cheap; want proof? Count how many "tractor" owners have name brands vs off-brand tractors.

 

[GChief]

Why don't we all just admit all this began with WalMart driving out local businesses from small towns. This is the U.S..A., if you don't like one store go elsewhere to shop and eat. That is Capitalism.
The problem is, Americans are hooked on cheap.

Yep, when people complain about Amazon I remind them that Wal-Mart started it. And that at least Amazon is like a "mall", over 60% of the sellers are small mom&pop businesses.

 

[kencombs]

In my area (OK), we have a variation on that name, Qwik Trip. Excellent company, clean stores, good employees, quality gas and pretty good snack/lunch foods. They have there own Kitchens that make up sandwiches and refrigerated stuff that is delivered to the stores daily. Plus they have like a deli counter that makes up some stuff fresh. Excellent pizza slices etc.

They are branching out a few states over.

 

[Ray,IN]

Yep, when people complain about Amazon I remind them that Wal-Mart started it. And that at least Amazon is like a "mall", over 60% of the sellers are small mom&pop businesses.

Sorry about that GChief. My old desktop crapped out mid-sentence and I missed your reply while I was editing my comments with my laptop. That HP p6-2530 is about 20 years old, it's been good but time to replace it with something up to date. I too buy things off Amazon, mostly because any returns are promptly handled without a hassle. I avoid WM because I can never find what I want, nor do I wish to deal with the crowd.

 

[RedMF40]

Since it looks like this topic is petering out. I recall that the burger chain Gino’s used to carry KFC’s chicken until KFC became such a juggernaut it didn’t need to piggyback on another chain. Except for that odd marriage with Taco Bell. There, that should pretty much kill this thread.

 

[joeysmith]

Kind of sad Sears didn't get online while Amazon just had books

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Yep, when people complain about Amazon I remind them that Wal-Mart started it. And that at least Amazon is like a "mall", over 60% of the sellers are small mom&pop businesses.

When I was a Kid, Sears never made anything, they had a local store store and a mail order catalog, So did monkey Wards and a few other
A large % of Amazon sales is from small businesses, What does Amazon make?

 

[joeysmith]

What does Amazon make

Piles an piles of money

 

[wingnuttx]

If you want the ultimate fuel station experience for fuel or everything/anything. Pull into a Buckeys in Texas and now in favorable Southern cities. No 18 wheelers allowed on the property. Fuel trucks offload at a depot station far behind the facility on a separate traffic route and fuel is pumped to Buckeys pumps. They pay all level of employees very well. Wingnut

 

[Dingo3]

Since it looks like this topic is petering out. I recall that the burger chain Gino’s used to carry KFC’s chicken until KFC became such a juggernaut it didn’t need to piggyback on another chain. Except for that odd marriage with Taco Bell. There, that should pretty much kill this thread.

Yum brands owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

 

[MarkB_MI]

Kind of sad Sears didn't get online while Amazon just had books

Yep. Sears saw the future and it was financial services. Catalog sales and mail order were dead. I'm guessing they used a Kenmore crystal ball.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

. So, until restaurants start selling GAS,

Never been to a Howard Johnson's truck plaza?

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Destroying how? As in buying the property, demolishing what was there, and building new? Or simply beating them on the open market?

Either way, that's business. Maybe the owners of the previous stations were sick of the game and wanted out? They clearly didn't want to compete.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Yum brands owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

Are you talking about Yum China?

 

[paul]

The food situation has really changed the last 6 years.

Fast food places have doubled in price and menu choices seem more limited, hours are much more limited. And their check outs have a spot for a tip? Quite a few have shut down, understandably with their poor performance on these points.

Ma and pa places when the owners retire new owners don’t last 2 years. The hours are killer, the help isn’t there any more, the govt regulations have strangled them.

Best deal in town is a grocery store, $9.90 gets you a coffee and a close to home made style meal with 2 sides at a Cashwise. Other grocery store used to be even better, but corporate changed their deli area into premade box lunches now worse than the gas stations - dang you HyVee corporate….

Holiday stations used to be nice, but Circle K bought them and now only their coffee is good. They went to only pay at the pump and the local one the pumps don’t scan my credit card right! Oh well. Used to be the only place we got fuel and maybe a snack.

Casey’s has good pizza if you need a quick slice.

Had one KwikTrip in town forever, it was a dirty old place with the highest gas in town. Never even bothered looking at it. Couple years ago they built a second one on the other end of town, and totally changed their game. Competitive on gas price, often the leader on dropping prices, they have the 15% pumps which is usually a dime less for a better fuel, the store is pretty much a small grocery store with many different food options. Lots of help and someone always cleaning. Very very busy, with the volume they do they are the best value now for fuel or food. It is ‘gas station food’ but when we want a fast food meal we are starting to prefer them over McDonald’s and they have better hours than Hardee’s.

I understand the disappointment of losing an old food hangout. We have lost a lot of them. For us kwicktrip has turned into the replacement with cheaper better fuel, and better food than most in its class.

Paul

 

[Dingo3]

Are you talking about Yum China?

Yum Brands is a spinoff from Pepsi. Its headquarters is in Kentucky. It’s a global company and Yum China operated the shops in China but they were spun off about ten years ago. They are now a separate company but a portion of their profits goes to the original company.