You Favorite Local/Area Gas Station/Convenience Stores.

[triplemultiplex]

If I need a snack in Wisconsin and there's a Kwik Trip nearby, I'm stopping there.  Good selection, descent prices and way better than the average roller-grill.

Interesting to learn there's a franchise of the same name, but different spelling elsewhere in the country.

[Bryant5493]

^^ Go figure. Never heard of Kwik Trip... of course, I've never been to Wisconsin.


Be well,

Bryant

[BigMattFromTexas]

Not really local, but I enjoy stopping at Travelcenters of America, Love's, Petro Stopping Centers, and Pilot Travel Centers.
BigMatt

[realjd]

Not really local, but I enjoy stopping at Travelcenters of America, Love's, Petro Stopping Centers, and Pilot Travel Centers.
BigMatt

Flying J is the king of the truck stops IMO.

[US71]

Flying J is the king of the truck stops IMO.

I'm curious if they will remain so now that Pilot owns them?

[Scott5114]

Wait, what? That's really a brand?

yep, tends to be upper plains states.  North Dakota and Montana come to mind.

Kum & Go is pretty awesome. They're all over MO and some of NE OK (haven't seen one west of OK 99 though). I tend to stop at them whenever I can. They named it that because the founders' initials were K&G.

QT is pretty cool, but because of an agreement between QT and 7-11, OKC only has 7-11s and Tulsa only has QTs.

When I worked at Burger King we had a symbiotic relationship with the Circle K next door, so I kind of like Circle K's.

a gas station without a bathroom (or one where I have to ask for the key) will not get my business.  

There was this asshole running a shitstain of a Conoco in Big Cabin, OK who refused to tell me where the bathroom was before I bought something! I had to pee bad enough I bought some 69¢ candy bar and never went there again! Fuck you, Big Cabin!

Also had to deal with some bitchy woman running the register at a gas station in Okmulgee who refused to take my money because I was paying with $2 bills! Seems she thought they were cursed. Way to let your irrationality interfere with your business, lady! She forced me to trade my $2s for $1s with some other guy in the gas station who had a "omg you can't be serious" expression on his face.

[jgb191]

I love QuikTrip, but my area doesn't have those around here, even though their HQ is in the VERY SAME STATE as me!    

[hbelkins]

Decade-long thread bump!

Not sure how I missed this one way back when, but Sheetz is my favorite anywhere (as if no one here didn't know that).

I know Buc-ee's is huge in Texas, and it looks like they're coming to Kentucky even before Sheetz does. A news item on the WKYT-TV evening news today indicated that Buc-ee's is looking to locate along I-75 in Madison County.

[US71]

Locally, I patronize Casey's or "Wal-Murphy". Occasionally, I'll patronize Joey's Snuff & Suds,  but their pumps are old and cantankerous.

On the road, it's often Casey's or Shit & Git Kum and Go.

[Takumi]

In my area Sheetz and Wawa overlap, so I frequent both. For coffee I prefer Wawa, but I like Sheetz’s food better. Notably, their territory diverges south of Petersburg: Sheetz reappears in North Carolina (first ones past Petersburg are Roanoke Rapids on 95 and Henderson on 85), while Wawa heads southeast to Hampton Roads, but further south of there doesn’t reappear until Florida. The likes of 7-Eleven and Circle K are a step down, but for gas I frequent a Sunoco/7-Eleven near my house because Wawa, and possibly Sheetz, uses 92 octane gasoline and I prefer 93. I’ve yet to visit a Royal Farms but have seen them and, despite my ex being from Arkansas, I haven’t been west of Tennessee so can’t comment on non-coastal chains like Casey’s or K&G.

[formulanone]

I'm also not a big loyalist to any one type. I almost never eat any warm grilled items, fountain drinks, nor hot coffee; just snacks, drinks, gas, and restrooms. Each regional area seems to have their better gas station and c-store combo which is more reliable than most no-names. But sometimes the one-offs have some really bizarre stuff that's fun to marvel at.

One thing I've noticed with Buc-ees is that they never seem to have sales. Many convenience stores always seem to have some sort of beverage at a discount price, but not at the Brand of the Big Beaver. (I'm not terribly loyal to any brand of water, soda, juice, or energy drink...I tend to look for what's on sale, new, unusual, or rare/hard-to-find elsewhere. )

That said, the no-waiting restrooms are worth the trouble. And the beaver nuggets.

[Scott5114]

QT is pretty cool, but because of an agreement between QT and 7-11, OKC only has 7-11s and Tulsa only has QTs.

How much changes in 10 years. Because 7-11 is no longer locally owned (it was a franchise that was bought out by the national 7-11 chain), this agreement is no longer in effect. QT has yet to expand into OKC, however.

That being said, in the interim, a Stillwater-based chain called OnCue has been building basically near-exact clones of QT in the OKC area. They are finally building one on my side of Norman, and I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately, their gas is more expensive than 7-11, so I'll probably keep going there for gas, but OnCue will get my business for any actual convenience store purchases.

[US71]

QT is pretty cool, but because of an agreement between QT and 7-11, OKC only has 7-11s and Tulsa only has QTs.

How much changes in 10 years. Because 7-11 is no longer locally owned (it was a franchise that was bought out by the national 7-11 chain), this agreement is no longer in effect. QT has yet to expand into OKC, however.

That being said, in the interim, a Stillwater-based chain called OnCue has been building basically near-exact clones of QT in the OKC area. They are finally building one on my side of Norman, and I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately, their gas is more expensive than 7-11, so I'll probably keep going there for gas, but OnCue will get my business for any actual convenience store purchases.

I've seen one or two along I-40 in Oklahoma.  Kum & Go seems to be expanding a lot in Central Arkansas, but in my area they are run down, tiny and dirty.

[US 89]

I usually choose Maverik when I'm on the road in the inland west. Their gas tends to be cheaper than most other stations, and I can usually rely on them for clean restrooms inside - especially if it's a newer location.

[DandyDan]

^^ Go figure. Never heard of Kwik Trip... of course, I've never been to Wisconsin.


Be well,

Bryant

In Iowa, Kwik Trip is Kwik Star because the Des Moines area has Quik Trip but now that Mason City has one finally, everyone I know goes there. Soon, there will be a second with a third waiting government approval for sale of land. Clear Lake likes it so much they now have one on each side of I-35 at the US 18/IA 122 interchange, with the west one geared more toward local business. There's also Casey's for pizza and some people I know also like the other stuff they make, but I only ever get their pizza. Clear Lake has their Kum n Go's and Mason City has their Yesways, which are mostly just there. No one I know admits to liking Yesway for anything, including apparently the people who work there.

[kevinb1994]

We already have plenty of these in our area here...GATE is an original, and has seen their founder give way to his son who was (not long ago) Mayor of this city. My father happened to visit nearly a decade ago. He was on a business trip. He doesn't like having to pay for air in his tires, though...that's where Daily's/Dash comes in (they're actually known as First Coast Energy). Wawa is, for better or worse, here to stay as they slowly add locations in Florida (here and down there) and elsewhere. I'm more of a QuickChek person though. I wish they still sponsored the NJ Festival of Ballooning, but I digress. Royal Farms I can't tell you when or where I last went there. Good to see them have more locations than in the past. Same with Sheetz. I can't say when I'll set foot in Ohio, though...

[kphoger]

Locally, I fill up at Kwik Shop, which is the gas station chain linked to Dillon's grocery stores.  That's only because of the discount I receive with my shopper's rewards card.  The Wichita local religion, however, is QuikTrip.  If there are three gas stations at a given intersection and you need to meet up with someone there, it's pretty much a guarantee that they'll tell you to meet them at QuikTrip.

While traveling in Missouri or Iowa, I prefer to stop at newer-construction Casey's stations.  When traveling in Texas, I prefer to stop at Stripes stations (many of which are co-branded with Alon or Sunoco).

Whenever possible, though–in any area–my go-to truck stop chain is Love's.

[bing101]

https://abcstores.com/


ABC Stores in Hawaii its a tourist shop and a convenience store at the same time when I went there.

[In_Correct]

The most important thing finding NON Ethanol Gas and they must be open 24 hours, with the Pay With Card AND Get Receipt At Pump. (Usually the NON Ethanol gas stations have the NON Ethanol, but they lack every thing else. And even if they have Card At Pump, I often run in to the "Clerk has receipt." and "Receipt in store.".)

As a result of finding high quality NON Ethanol Gas Stations, I am a regular customer at Buc-ee's.

Curiously, it is the size of a truck stop, but Buc-ee's does not have any truck stops.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Holiday for me. Not even really a debate; I don't go anywhere else if I can avoid it. The food is good and they are more aesthetically pleasing to me than SuperAmerica (the other main local chain here).

Well, a lot has changed in a decade.

Kwik Trip has taken my #1 over Holiday; new stores have rapidly expanded into Minnesota in the last five years, and better food choices. SuperAmeirca no longer exists after being bought out by former co-brand partner Speedway, but still sucks.

[renegade]

Speedway.  I've got lots of roller-dog points to show for it.   

[cjk374]

I was shown a fb post (by my wife) saying that Ruston was going to get Louisiana's very first Qwik Trip store. Anyone care to fill me in on what makes a QT a big deal?

[US71]

I was shown a fb post (by my wife) saying that Ruston was going to get Louisiana's very first Qwik Trip store. Anyone care to fill me in on what makes a QT a big deal?

Modern ones have made to order pizza, a good selection of fountain beverages. a variety of roller grill items, usually 2 cashiers on duty,

[1995hoo]

I hardly ever go to convenience stores. I usually stop for gas at the Liberty station about a mile from home, unless I have grocery store points or need to get the car washed, in which case I go to the Shell just down the street from there.

[SP Cook]

I've only been in Texas once, not counting airports and there was no Buc-ees along my route so I have no idea.  There seems to be a lot of internet and YouTube love for the the place.  The deal seems to be that its just BIG and carries a lot of trucker and traveler items, right.   I'll reserve judgement, but most well traveled interstates have extra large places that welcome both truckers and non-truckers.

Still, a single outlet in Kentucky seems pretty far off their map.