QuikTrip evaluating drive-thru testQuikTrip evaluating drive-thru test

C-store operator QuikTrip Corp., which has been expanding and upgrading food offerings with its QT Kitchens brand, is evaluating the launch of its first drive-thru, the company said Tuesday.

Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip debuted its first QT Kitchens drive-thru at a location in that city in June, spokeswoman Kelly Cooper said, in a space once occupied by a Wendy’s restaurant.

“This is a test location to evaluate operations and determine customer acceptance,” Cooper said. “The response has been very good.”

Cooper said the company would not share information on any future drive-thru locations.

QuikTrip CEO Chet Cadiuex has said gasoline sales would likely decline in the coming years, so the company has been enhancing its food offerings

Cooper added that “earlier this year, QT opened its first non-fuel location in Atlanta as another way to meet the needs of its customers in Midtown.” That location features the QT Kitchens branding.

The menu includes pizza, hot sandwiches and grilled chicken salads. Photo: QT Kitchens

​QuikTrip, which has more than 700 stores in 11 states, launched QT Kitchens in 2014, and completed the rollout of the foodservice branding to most locations in 2015.

QT Kitchens serve food from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., at most locations. The menu includes pizza, hot sandwiches and grilled chicken salads.

QuikTrip joins a number of convenience stores that have been upgrading and expanding their food offerings.

Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz, with 530 units, has opened three locations without gasoline pumps, all on college campuses. The most recent opened in late August, at Indiana University at Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pa. The other two are at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W. Va., and at Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pa.

Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. has also been expanding its line of fresh food offerings at its 8,500 U.S. stores.

QuikTrip operates stores in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

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