TOPEKA, Kansas -- Kwik Shop has been named the "Best Convenience Store" in the Topeka, Kansas, area again this year by The Topeka Capital-Journal. The company--which said it is looking to expand--attributed the win to customer service.
"We're all about serving the customer. Having what they want when they want to have it," Brian Fisher, vice president of operations for the Kroger-owned convenience store chain with 10 locations in the Topeka region, told the newspaper. "Kwik Shop appreciates everyone's faith and confidence in us, and we will continue to work diligently [image-nocss] to offer consistency and great service in all of our stores."
He added, "Overall, our standardization sets us apart" from the competition. "We offer consistency to the customer that our competitors do not. And we do visit our competitors. Good service, fast service and a good selection of items are what customers can expect in every one of our Kwik Shop locations."
Over the past year, the chain has expanded its offerings at many of its locations. "We increased our fuel presence at our store near Forbes Field [the metropolitan airport]," Fisher said. "We have a new store where we added new fresh products and a Real Time Cafe deli. The cafe follows the Dillons [a Kroger-owned supermarket chain] chicken recipes, so if you've had Dillons chicken, you will find it in the cafe, too. We also offer lunch specials. We also have a new store with expanded fresh items, coffee bar, fountain drinks and a car wash. This store has a lot of energy-efficient items in the store."
And referring to the tornado that ravaged Greensburg, Kansas, in 2007, he said, "We learned a lot from our location in Greensburg. We were one of the first to rebuild after the tornado, and we actually built a duel Dillons/Kwik Shop (click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage).
As for the future, Fisher told the paper: "We want to continue to expand our energy efficiency programs and make upgrades to our stores in Topeka. We also have a real estate professional on the lookout for places to expand. Topeka is a great area for us and there is no reason not to expand.
Cincinnati-based Kroger is the nation's largest traditional grocery retailer, with 2,470 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states under two-dozen local banners, including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Jay C, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith's. The company also operates 909 supermarket fuel centers and 784 convenience stores in the United States. The c-stores are in 16 states: Loaf 'N Jug in Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming; Turkey Hill Minit Markets in Pennsylvania; Crestview, Fla.-based Tom Thumb Food Stores in Florida and Alabama; Kwik Shop in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska; and Quik Stop Markets in California and Nevada.
Separately, The Orlando Business Journal has named Atlanta-based RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. one of its "2011 Best Places to Work. The chain took an award in the "giant" (301-1,000 employees) category.
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