QuikTrip will open to the Emporia area next summer or fall after official groundbreaking activities Friday.
QuikTrip Division Manager Steven Sparacia says the company is glad to expand its statewide presence in Emporia.
Sparacia says customers at the better-than-7,000-square-foot convenience store and gas station can expect diligent employees and a range of high-quality food items.
Emporia Mayor Erren Harter says having QuikTrip in Emporia reflects several different partnerships at the local level. It also signals opportunities for more development nearby.
Lyon County Commission Chair Ken Duft says QuikTrip may be new to Emporia, but its longstanding presence in the Central and Southern Plains gives people from a wide radius a lot of comfort when they stop in.
Preliminary work has taken place almost all year leading up to Friday’s ceremony, including a new road and a new roundabout connecting Graphic Arts Road to the existing two roundabouts linking Interstate 35, the Kansas Turnpike and US Highway 50. Conversations, both behind the scenes and in local meetings, have been underway for around five years. In fact, Emporia city commissioners approved a Community Improvement District application for what’s officially called Flint Hills Crossing and part of what’s called the DeBauge-Krueger tract back in February 2021. The city handled construction of underground utilities, street design and roundabout design, while Lyon County set aside $250,000 for the QuikTrip project.
QuikTrip’s impending construction comes with several significant commercial projects either underway or recently completed:
*Walmart finished construction of its convenience store and gas station last month.
*Emporia Pavilions continues construction of Ulta Beauty and PetSmart. Both stores should be open to the public next spring.
*Brownstone 3 developers are into ground-level construction of a new travel plaza between the US-50 intersection with Graphic Arts and Flying J to the west.
*Construction of the Fairfield Inn at the former Montana Mike’s restaurant location in the 3000 block of West 18th is set to end next month.
