Dive Brief:
- QuikTrip plans to open at least 80 new stores this year, the company announced last week.
- The stores will include both QuikTrip’s older Gen 3 design and the Gen 4 design that’s scheduled to debut this spring, a company spokesperson confirmed to C-Store Dive.
- The news came after the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based retailer opened its 1,200th location earlier this month. That site, in the Atlanta metro area, is the 181st QuikTrip in Georgia, QuikTrip’s second-largest market behind Texas.
Dive Insight:
If QuikTrip hits its goal of at least 80 new stores in 2026, it’ll have grown at about the same pace as it has over the past few years. The retailer went from 972 stores at the start of 2023 to 1,039 at the start of 2024 and 1,118 to begin 2025, according to NACS data. Overall, QuikTrip’s store count has gone up by over 23% since the start of 2023.
While QuikTrip has begun building stores using its new Gen 4 design, some of the 80 sites started permitting before that format came out, which is why they are still using the Gen 3 design, QuikTrip’s spokesperson said in a statement. However, from this point forward, all new traditional, non-travel-center stores will use the newer format.
“Our 2026 openings span all QuikTrip markets, reflecting our continued investment in expanding and modernizing our network,” the spokesperson said. “Introducing Gen 4 alongside existing Gen 3 stores allows us to tailor each location to its community while evolving our overall footprint.”
The first Gen 4 location is expected to open in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The format is about 1,000-square-feet larger than a traditional QuikTrip and aims to give customers a smoother shopping layout and help improve efficiency for workers. This design joins the remote travel center concept QuikTrip debuted in 2020, which includes 8,200-square-foot stores with dozens of fuel pumps.
