Burt Holmes, who founded QuikTrip in the 1950s alongside his former junior high school classmate Chester Cadieux has passed away at the age of 93, a company spokesperson confirmed to C-Store Dive.
Holmes and Cadieux opened the first QuikTrip in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1958 after Holmes was inspired by 7-Eleven during a trip to Dallas. Within a decade, QuikTrip had 43 locations and over $5 million in annual sales. In 1968, QuikTrip opened its first location outside of Oklahoma in Grandview, Missouri.
Nearly 70 years after Holmes and Cadieux founded the company, QuikTrip has become one of the largest c-store retailers in the U.S. It has more than 1,100 stores across 19 states, and plans to debut in several more states.
QuikTrip Chairman and CEO Chet Cadieux — Chester’s son — said in a statement Wednesday evening that Holmes created opportunities for the people who make QuikTrip what it is today.
“On behalf of our 31,000 employees, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude,” Cadieux said. “We will miss you, Burt, but we will never forget you.”
In a separate statement, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said that the state “has lost a true giant” with Holmes’ passing.
“He was one-of-a-kind, and he will be greatly missed,” Drummond said.
