03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
Aurora City Council to consider proposal for QuikTrip gas station
The Aurora City Council is set to consider at its meeting next week a proposal to build a QuikTrip gas station on Eola Road near Interstate 88.
The gas station would be located on the southeast corner of Eola Road and Diehl Road, which is across the street from the CyrusOne data center and a short ways away from Metea Valley High School. It is expected to hold 16 gas fueling spots and four diesel fueling spots, two of which can accommodate tractor trailers.
Those two tractor-trailer-ready diesel fueling stations would make this gas station count as a truck stop under Aurora city ordinances, but the facility wouldn't have any of the typical amenities of a truck stop like showers or even places to park tractor trailers.
Plus, overnight parking would be banned.
'It's part of our name, QuikTrip,' said Ali Bukhres, a company representative who presented the proposal to the Aurora City Council's Committee of the Whole on Tuesday. 'Just come in, make it a quick trip: grab your food, drink and then head on the road.'
In addition to items typically available at a convenience store, including beer and wine, made-to-order food items like sandwiches and tacos would also be available for grab-and-go purchases, according to Bukhres' presentation.
In-house secret shoppers would make sure the store is held to QuikTrip's 'very rigorous' alcohol sale standards, he said.
Both Bukhres and city staff said that the new gas station would not increase traffic in the area. Plus, truck traffic from I-88 would be minimal because of the gas station's low visibility from the interstate as well as similar offerings in the area, Bukhres said.
'We're not a traffic generator, we're a traffic capturer. That's why we chose this site,' he said.
The site would have a number of different entrances, including a full access entrance on Diehl Road, a right-in and right-out entrance also on Diehl Road but close to its intersection with Eola Road and a right-in only entrance on Eola Road.
A report included with the meeting's agenda said city staff believe the location is 'highly favorable' for this use since it is positioned along major streets and is in a predominantly non-residential area.
The site is also accessible to property owners along Eola Road as well as the customers and employees of the industrial area along Diehl Road, according to the staff report.
Plus, since it is close to I-88, it would be an 'ideal stop' for those coming and going to the highway, which would ensure 'steady traffic flow and a broad customer base,' the report said.
During his presentation, Bukhres touted QuikTrip as a socially responsible company that is dedicated to its employees and sensitive to environmental concerns. For example, he said the company only uses double-walled fuel holding tanks with multiple sensors, above and beyond what is legally required.
The company also donates 5% of its profits to charitable organizations within local communities it operates in and is a National Safe Place location for youth in danger, he said.
Employees are retained long-term and internally promoted, Bukhres said, and even the CEO started out by working in one of the company's stores. QuikTrip also offers tuition assistance, disaster relief, scholarship and stock ownership programs, he said.
Two items related to the gas station are set to go before the Aurora City Council at its meeting next Tuesday.
One, an ordinance, would grant the gas station a conditional use permit. The other, a resolution, would approve a change to the underlying plan for the lot to include the new gas station.
