Good old Kwik Star. A convenience store that services gas, which is held with the highest regard in Iowa and many neighboring states. According to CStore Decisions, there are more than 700 Kwik Trips/Kwik Stars in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa.

The first Kwik Trip store opened in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1965. The store added gasoline to the services five years later, according to Iowa Starting Line. In 1971, Kwik Trip moved its headquarters to La Crosse, Wisconsin, and expanded to 100 stores in 1986.

Why Is It Called Kwik Star In Iowa?

You can always tell when someone isn't from the state of Iowa or hasn't lived here very long. If you're familiar with the store in Minnesota or Wisconsin, you refer to them as Kwik Trips. In Iowa, they're called Kwik Stars and Iowans will definitely let you hear about it if you call them Kwik Trips. They're the exact same store, owned by the same family, so what's the reason for the name change?

In 1993, the first Kwik Star opened in Iowa. According to Iowa Starting Line, the reason they're called Kwik Stars in Iowa is because there was already a chain of convenience stores called QuikTrip. The Zietlow family, who owns Kwik Trip, did not want their stores confused with QuikTrip, which is why the Kwik Star name was born.

Without including gasoline, if you had to guess what Kwik Star/Kwik Trips' top-selling product is, what would you guess? Supposedly it's the Glazer donut. According to Iowa Starting Line, the company's baked goods are made fresh, every day, at the La Crosse headquarters. This facility makes more than 2 million donuts every week.

According to 10Best, Americans voted Kwik Star/Kwik Trip as the best gas station in America in 2022. Something tells me we'll be seeing those same results in the poll for 2023...I know which gas station Iowans are voting for.