QuikTrip (QT) recently opened a new remote travel center in Cottondale, Ala. While the retailer has widespread presence across 14 other states in the Southwest, Midwest and Southeast, the travel center is the first QT location in Alabama.
The first customers were greeted on Feb. 17 at 4001 Buttermilk Road, Cottondale, Ala., 35453. The travel center features a larger designed lot and more spacious store than a traditional QT. The travel center has room to service 20 cars for gas and six diesel bays for trucks.
“We are excited to introduce QuikTrip in Alabama with our first Remote Travel Center in Cottondale. We look forward to introducing our unique QuikTrip brand and culture to our new community,” said Amy Gulizia, division manager for QT’s remote store network. “The Travel Center allows us to not only create meaningful connections with our new local customers in Cottondale, but also serve travelers in this busy part of the country.”
QT’s new store model was created specifically for highly traveled areas of the country that are also within a reasonable proximity to a QT distribution center for access to fresh food.
For decades people have looked to QT for an on-the-go snack or sandwich. The company offers a full-service kitchen with fresh, made-to-order snackles, as well as fresh food delivered daily through its bakeries and commissaries.
Cottondale customers can enjoy the full line of QT ‘snackles,’ including fresh-brewed coffee and fresh-brewed QTea, as well as its complete menu of grab-and-go items like fresh donuts, salads, wraps, QT’s signature pizza by the slice and roller grill items. The Cottondale travel center also features an expanded QT Kitchens location, offering fresh, made-to-order food, premium specialty drinks and frozen treats. QT Kitchens customer favorites include warm, soft pretzels, X-large pizzas, custom breakfast tacos, hardwood smoked BBQ sandwiches, cold brew coffee and frozen treats like QT’s QuikShake.
QT is known for its impact on the communities it serves — with each store generating on average $1.3 million in annual local and state taxes. The company donates 5% of its annual net profits to charitable organizations. Among the organizations QT supports are United Way, Safe Place, local food banks, schools and Folds of Honor, a non-profit whose mission is to provide educational scholarships to the military families of those who have been killed or disabled while on active duty.
QT is now in its 62nd year in business and employs over 24,000 people across 15 states. Planning is underway for future travel center locations, and several sites are currently under construction, including another Alabama location in Calera and Opelika by the end of this year.
