TULSA, Okla. -- QuikTrip Corp. has shelved plans for a bakery in the St. Louis area, choosing instead to focus on a nearly completed bakery in Belton, Mo., reported The Kansas City Business Journal.
The Tulsa, Okla.-based convenience store chain had planned to build a $21 million bakery in the St. Louis suburb of Bellefontaine Neighbors. It pulled the plug on that project because of site problems, said the report.
QuikTrip is weeks away from completing a bakery in Belton, where it also has a distribution center. Company spokesperson [image-nocss] Mike Thornburgh said the Belton site provides easy access to surrounding markets such as Wichita, Des Moines and Omaha. "Kansas City is extremely important to us," he told the newspaper. "We have a great relationship with the various communities there."
QuikTrip has 479 stores in nine states, with 73 stores in the Kansas City area.
The privately held company is hiring employees for the Belton facility, which will employ hundreds, Thornbrugh said. Specifics about the size and cost of the facility were not available.
Construction of QuikTrip Kitchens in Belton follows the opening of a test kitchen in Tulsa two years ago, the report said. The projects are part of QuikTrip's plans to provide its own baked goods and fresh foods instead of purchasing the goods from outside suppliers.
QuikTrips in the Kansas City area have been remodeled during the past eight to 10 months to make room for the doughnuts, muffins, sandwiches, wraps, salads and other items the kitchens will provide, added the report. The company has rolled out the products slowly, but products from the Tulsa kitchen have been well-received, Thornbrugh said.
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