Maybe things first got started back decades ago in Stillwater where there used to be a QT. The founder died, and the founder's son took over the business not yet named Oncue. In 2004, Jim Griffith, Chief Executive Officer of Griffith Petroleum, the founder's son, formed a joint venture with Shaw’s Gulf, Inc. to create OnCue Express. Griffith is now a little past retirement age. I wonder if he is still at it. Oncue is headquartered in a modest 1 story building in downtown Stillwater. Perhaps it was about the founder's son as the story goes. Or maybe QT was never a part of the story.
Here are the plans for the Hefner/I-35 location. You can see the truck fueling stations are behind (west) of the building which faces east towards I-35.
10 fueling islands for cars, 7 for trucks.
I love how all the other media outlets took Pete’s findings and announced this but all they did was call corporate and took the bait of “we are considering OKC but nothing has been decided”
Yet Pete has location and building plans. Good job on being first and most detailed on these things as always!
I'm guessing the little c-store just south won't be long for this world. Not sure how they have stayed open this long anyway
Keep in mind that the story states (and their corporate office has stated) that QT is currently expanding their 'travel stops' servicing interstate travel, not an aggressive expansion across the city.
I rarely venture into modern convenience stores but I grew up in Ponca and we always had QuickTrips and I have a lot of fond memories of those stores. I always feel a bit of nostalgia when we go to Tulsa and I see them everywhere. I haven't been in a QT since Ponca City, and those have been closed for years (decades?).
Monster numbers on Facebook:
I love reading the comments. People complaining about gas stations.
I think OnCue has a leg up on QT for the actual store because of the awning and also the drive thru's. QT's have much better customer service though. Their employees always seem friendly and will stop what they're doing to ring a customer up. OnCue employees seem much grumpier, carry on with their conversations with each other even if they're checking out a customer, don't stop what they're doing even if there's a line at checkout, etc.
I would have been a lot more excite about this a decade ago. As Pete mentioned, the landscape has changed a lot in the years since we just had the crappy 7-11s. Back then, going into a place like an On-Cue or QT was the exception, not the rule. At this point, I've got 6 On-Cue's within just a few miles of my house, with at least one in every available direction. There's nothing specifically "extra" about QT verses On-Cue to me at this point, so it will come down to convenience and location.
That being said, if the competition keeps On-Cue, 7/11, and such on their game, then all the better for all of us.
It's an odd relationship between Tulsan's and their QuikTrip. I personally don't really get worked up over convenience stores, but I like them small, dingy and cheap. I think OnCue and QT are generally the same. QT's spicy chicken taquitos and buffalo chicken bites with cheese were an entire food group for me when I lived in Tulsa and when in town I always stop to get some. OnCue appears to have similar offerings, but none of them match those two for me. Otherwise, they are all the same.
In my opinion, some of the Tulsa QT "cult" comes from knowing they take care of theirs. Most people in Tulsa know someone who works for, or has worked for QT. In my experience, some of the nicest and most deserving people go to work for QT (some straight out of high school), bust their tails, and are rewarded for it. I've never heard someone complain about QT as an employer (while I'm sure they exists). So to a certain degree, QT represents a civic institution more than simply a convenience store. This is my personal opinion / experience, but I am often found to be overly empathetic and could be way off.
I'm surprised I haven't seen the other half of the Quick Trip and Brown family "gentlemen's agreement"; Seven Eleven stayed out of NE Oklahoma.
And QT stayed out of OKC until the Browns sold their 7-Elevens, so the agreement (assuming it actually existed) was pretty much null and void after that happened. I doubt that Mr. Brown and Mr. Trip (whoever owned/owns them) said "and the agreement still stands even if one of us sells our chains" while shaking hands many decades ago.
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