Kwik Trip has finalized the purchase of 151 acres of farmland in DeForest, Wisconsin, for a new distribution center.
The La Crosse, Wisconsin-based convenience-store chain paid $14.1 million for the empty land north of Madison, the state capital, at the southwest quadrant of the intersection of Highways 51 and 19, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Kwik Trip is discussing with the village using 60 of those acres for a new distribution center, with the other 91 acres being used for development in the future, according to Bill Chang, DeForest administrator, the State Journal reported.
- Kwik Trip is No. 11 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience store chains by store count.
The center could serve around 350 Kwik Trip locations.
Kwik Trip spokesperson Ben Leibl told CSP, “We are still doing our due diligence on the property.”
This project is part of Kwik Trip’s bigger investment plans in Wisconsin. The company is investing more than $151 million to expand operations at several Wisconsin locations, a move that will create more than 500 jobs by 2027, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC), CSP reported in December.
Areas of investment include Kwik Trip further expanding its dairy, commissary and bakery facilities in La Crosse, buying and renovating a commercial office building in Onalaska, and building a new satellite distribution center.
Second Center
The center in DeForest will be the chain’s first outside of La Crosse, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. More than 80% of products Kwik Trip sells are supplied by its La Crosse-based distribution and food production operations.
Chang said groundbreaking is expected in spring or summer and will take at least 18 months, the Journal Sentinel reported.
The distribution center will be less than 10 minutes from a 73,400-square-foot Buc-ee's being planned in DeForest, the Journal Sentinel said. The Lake Jackson, Texas-based chain is planning its first Wisconsin location, which will be far outside its traditional geographic footprint, CSP previously reported.
Kwik Trip/Kwik Star last year received an award from the Iowa Department of Agriculture for its efforts in renewable fuels. In addition, Kwik Trip was named the 2022 nation’s best gas station brand in a USA Today readers’ choice survey.
Kwik Trip has about 800 locations. One of the biggest independently held c-store chains in the country, it serves customers in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. It produces more than 80% of the products sold in its stores, supplied by its own bakery, commissary, dairy and distribution center.
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