QuikTrip: One trip with QuikTrip

July 30, 2022



QuikTrip (QT), is an American chain of convenience stores based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.



Kwik Trip has 937 store locations in the United States

In 1958, Burt Holmes was driving through Dallas, Texas, and was captivated by the number of 7-Eleven stores. It inspired him to open a small grocery store in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Along with his classmate, Chester Cadieux (each with $5,000 to their name) and three other investors who brought $2,000 each, he made his foray into the business world.

In 1958, the first QuikTrip (QT) store was opened in a strip mall in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The store offered a small selection of groceries with, of course, the necessary high prices for the convenience.

Holmes opened his first store outside of Tulsa in 1964, in Missouri in 1968 and in Iowa and in 1974.

By 1971, QuikTrip was selling gasoline as states legalized self-service stations.


Cadieux’s son, Chet, Jr., is the current Chief Executive Office (CEO)


QuikTrip Austin, Texas

A master businessman with a creative mind, Cadieux became the first inductee into the Convenience Store Hall of Fame in 1987. He was noted for being the first to offer self-serve fountain drinks, the first to design and offer a fast food module, the first to open a downtown convenience store, and the first to install personal computers in the stores and tie them to the company’s mainframe.

In 1988, as QuikTrip expanded into the St. Louis and Atlanta markets, the company began renovating all of its stores, replacing the earth-tone exterior and interior with a bright red color scheme. Even the countertops and floors were changed to red.

In 2017, QuikTrip expanded into two more Texas markets when they opened stores in San Antonio and Austin.  

In January 2006, QT ranked No. 21, ninth among companies classified as “mid-size”. In 2008, QT was ranked No. 27 on Fortune’s Top 100 list.

Gloria Sauvé
Communications and Marketing

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