T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Work recently began on the construction of a new generation three Kwik Star right by the South Sixth Street location in Marshalltown. On Thursday, workers moved dirt around to get the land ready for the new structure, which will be much bigger.

A new, larger Kwik Star station is coming to South Sixth Street.

The convenience store and gas station chain has marked the 814 S. Sixth Street location, or Kwik Star No. 607, for a rebuild. It is one of three Kwik Star stores in Marshalltown.

The city’s April Building Permit Report shows Kwik Trip Inc., owners of Kwik Star convenience stores in Iowa, was approved for a permit for a $3.5 million miscellaneous improvement. Construction is underway while the existing store continues to operate.

“Usually, we try to keep it open as close as we can,” said John McHugh, director of corporate communications for Kwik Star.

The new store is slated for a Sept. 9 opening date.

It will be what the company calls a “generation three” store, which are the largest stores Kwik Star has and will be about 9,100 square feet.

McHugh said there are several reasons for building a larger store.

“The back area where the kitchen is will be much larger because we’re doing more things like fresh fried chicken,” he said. “We have larger cases for things like our take-home meals and pizzas and other offerings. That one will also have a single-pay car wash.”

All Kwik Star stores are designed and built by the company’s internal engineering and construction departments.

Most of Kwik Star’s products in store are also produced within the company, McHugh said.

“In fact, 80 percent of all products in Kwik Star stores we produce here in La Crosse, [Wis.],” he said. “We also ship everything ourselves. Then we pass those savings off to the consumer.”

The company has been aggressive about building new stores throughout Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is constructing 50 new stores in 2021.

“This year, for the first time there will be more stores built in Iowa than in Minnesota and Wisconsin,” McHugh said. “We’ve found the smaller towns in Iowa have been great markets for us. All the commodities we offer, that’s just been a great niche for us.”

Kwik Star is also moving forward with a store relocation in Toledo. It submitted a site plan for a proposed new location to be reviewed by the City of Toledo.

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Contact Joe Fisher at jfisher@timesrepublican.com.