Many people try to avoid buying food at the gas station, and it’s easy to see why. The idea of hot dogs that have been sitting out all day isn’t exactly appealing, so most people skip out on food when stopping at a gas station. However, every now and then there’s some gas stations that prove people wrong, like Buc-ee’s with its fresh Texas BBQ. Now, there’s also a gas station baking up fresh goods every day too.
Meet Kwik Trip, a regional, family-owned gas station and convenience store chain in the Midwest. While most people stop at a Kwik Trip to fill up on gas, many find themselves filling up on the freshly made food, which is what the chain is famous for. The bakery, also known as the Kwikery, is the best part of a Kwik Trip for many thanks for the multiple kinds of freshly baked bread and desserts, including donuts, cinnamon rolls, and more.
The chain is best known for its use of vertical integration, which essentially means they make as much of their own products as possible. This includes not only the bakery, but also dairy production and kitchen cooked goods. This means that every time you visit a Kwik Trip, you’re getting something locally sourced and freshly made, right down to each loaf of bread.
About the Kwik Trip bakery
Rather than having a bakery at each individual Kwik Trip location, the chain opted to have one massive bakery where all of the sweet baked goods are produced. Located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, this bakery is responsible for making all of the Persians, Bismarks, Long Johns, cookies, muffins, and cinnamon rolls. It’s also where the Glazers, which are Kwik Trip’s famous glazed donuts, are made.
The sweets bakery is capable of producing millions of donuts in a year; back in 2023, it pumped out 45 million Glazers alone. Every day, the sweet treats are baked, frosted, and packaged. It isn’t just sweets either; Kwik Trip has an entirely separate bakery line for all the other baked goods.
On the other bakery line, Kwik Trip produces 10 different types of bread on a daily basis. On top of that, the bakery makes over 225 loaves of bread and 1,600 buns per minute. Both bakeries produce fresh goods every day, which are then immediately shipped out to all of Kwik Trip’s locations thanks to the chain’s fleet of 500 trucks.
