QuikTrip Readies Opening of New 'Store No. 1'

TULSA, Okla. -- QuikTrip's first store opened in Tulsa decades ago, but its current in-development location here will be designated Store No. 1 upon completion, according to a KRMG.com report. This is because the new store, located at the corner of 51st and Peoria, is in close proximity to the first Quik Trip store opened in 1958.

Company founder Chester Cadieux opened the first QuikTrip at 5204 S. Peoria. The store is no longer there, but that didn't stop the Tulsa-based chain from celebrating its 54th anniversary yesterday.

"Y'know we only had one employee back then and that was Chester," said company spokesman Mike Thornbrugh. "Now, we have about 13,000. Lot of changes and hopefully they've all been positive."

The new Store No. 1, scheduled to open next month, will be a Generation 3 model, as CSNews Online previously reported. The more upscale location will occupy 3,500 square feet and allow up to 20 vehicles to fuel at one time. Eventually, the company wants the Generation 3 layout to become standard for all QuikTrip stores, said Thornbrugh.

"We have about 50 of them in operation right now and about another 38 to 40 that are under construction," he told the news outlet.