Demolition of buildings is happening Wednesday at the site of the future Knoxville Kwik Star gas station and convenience store.

The new store will be at the corner of W Pleasant St. and Highway 14 and will break ground this year after demolition of the buildings that are currently there is complete. The demolition is being done by NISS Excavation. In September the Kwik Star site plan was approved by the Knoxville City Council which will include the retail store, 20 sports for fueling, and a car wash. The land that the store will be built on was formally owned by the Knoxville Community School District but was sold to the convivence store chain for $400,000.

Kwik Trip stores in Iowa are named Kwik Stars due to branding competition with an already existing company. The Wisconsin-based group has seen rapid growth in the Midwest over the last decade, and will also open a store in Pella near the Washington St. and Highway 163 interchange, which is expected to be complete in fall of 2025.