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Friday, September 10, 2010 |
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| Two retail chains see now as the time to make dirt fly in Tucson |
By Joe Pangburn |
INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS |
October 2, 2009
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From outside the market looking in, a couple of retail chains that hold cult-like status among their customers see this as a good time to make the dirt fly on their Tucson expansions.
California-based In-N-Out Burger is about two months away from opening its third location in the region, with real estate deals signed for two more.
And Oklahoma-based QuikTrip convenience store operator has two locations under construction with plans for 15 locations throughout the region by the time they’re finished.
Officials at QuikTrip, which started moving into the Phoenix market six years ago, saw Tucson as their next logical step for expansion. The two locations currently under construction are at 5151 E. Speedway, between Rosemont Boulevard and Craycroft Road, and 2345 E. Irvington Road, east of South Tucson Boulevard.
In keeping with the company’s typical concept of larger than normal convenience stores, each of the two locations are being built with 5,000 square-feet of store space and 16 gas pumps.
“We’ve been fortunate and have had a lot of growth,” said Mike Thornbrugh, manager of public and government affairs at QuikTrip, which is oftened abbreviated as QT. “Tucson is a target for us. And we hope to get a lot of the locations going relatively quickly. We’re growing everywhere too we have existing markets as well.”
Thornbrugh said he expects to have the Irvington Road location open by mid January and the Speedway location should follow in February.
“When you enter a new market there are a lot of people who don’t know you,” Thornbrugh said. “You need to open them all over and close in timing so people can see you all over in a short period of time. We hope to get several more under construction before these open.”
Despite the recessionary economy, Thornbrugh said QuikTrip officials believe this is the right time to enter the Tucson market.
“QT always makes our decision for the long term,” he said. “We think by entering the Tucson market now, will give us the opportunity to be successful.”
With its stores centered in the Midwest fanning out from its headquarters city, Tulsa, QuikTrip now has more than 525 locations stretching east to Georgia, north to Iowa and west to Arizona.
Just around the corner from QuikTrip’s Irvington Road location, In-N-Out Burger is building its newest location on the northeast corner of Ajo Way and Kino Parkway. With direct access off Interstate 10, it is prototypical of the kind of location the chain likes. When it opens in December, the location will be In-N-Out’s farthest east freeway location. The chain, which is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., has 233 locations in California, Arizona, Nevada and the southwest corner of Utah.
In-N-Out entered the Tucson maarket in August 2007 with a location at 3711 E. Broadway in El Con Shopping Center. Three months later it opened at 8180 N. Cortaro Road off I-10 in Marana. The company has signed real estate deals to open two more locations; one at 8 N. Kolb Road on the northeast corner of East Broadway and the other in Oro Valley Marketplace on the southwest corner of Oracle and Tangerine roads in Oro Valley.
Besides their popularity with customers, both QuikTrip and In-N-Out Burger have earned reputations that separate them as good places to work.
QuikTrip last year ranked No. 27 on Fortune magazine’s top 100 Best Companies to Work For and has been on the least twice previously. The company starts part-time clerks at $8.25 per hour but they are eligible for a bonus program after six months. Night-time assistants start at $10.67 per hour.
In-N-Out Burger starts all employees at $10 per hour in an industry that is known for paying the minimum wage.
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