QuikTrip has two big plans for Wichita, one of which is a new store in a QT desert

If you’ve ever been on the east side along the 21st Street corridor and wondered why there’s not a QuikTrip store in the area, you wouldn’t be the first.

The Tulsa chain with stores on myriad busy corners throughout Wichita has something of a QuikTrip desert in that area, but that’s about to change thanks to a development opportunity with Emprise Bank.

A new QuikTrip will be coming to the southeast corner of 21st and Woodlawn at Brittany Center where Emprise Bank also is. The bank has some extra land there.

“We were approached, and it just provided I’d say a really exciting opportunity,” said Jason Beckmann, executive vice president of technology and operations for Emprise Bank.

Beckmann said Emprise Bank thinks of its mission as empowering the community, and he said having a strong national brand such as QuikTrip commit to that area is a good investment all the way around.

“It felt like a good win-win,” he said. “It’s just kind of a natural extension for us to rally to support that.”

QuikTrip real estate manager Jake Barron said the company has “been trying to get our foot in the door for years” in that area.

He said there are barriers to entry because the company won’t settle for second-best sites.

“We are a company that focuses on the best locations.”

The closest other QuikTrips are at K-96 and Oliver and Central and Oliver, each around 3 miles away.

Emprise Bank also is making some changes to its site at the center, but Beckmann said those are still being finalized.

“We plan to continue serving our customers in that area for a long time.”

Once plans are finalized, QuikTrip will begin construction, which will take about 38 weeks to complete. The company is starting to pull permits with the city now in preparation.

QuikTrip’s other big news is that Wichita will be the third market to get its new Gen 4 stores, including the store opening at Brittany Center.

However, the first in Wichita will be the new store coming to Kellogg and 135th. Construction starts there next week, and the new store will open next May.

QuikTrip director of public and government affairs Michael Junk said the company likes to re-examine its store design every 15 or 20 years or so.

“It’s about time to roll out the new generation,” he said.

The first one will open in Broken Arrow, Okla., in February. One in Joplin, Mo., will follow.

QuikTrip isn’t sharing many details about what a Gen 4 store will look like yet.

“It is a modern building that is more customer friendly and operator efficient,” Barron said.

Look for more details on the new prototype and plans for Emprise Bank in the next few months.