Local Convenience Chain Will Not Proceed With First Avenue Store

A rapidly-growing one-stop-shop for gas, groceries, coffee, fresh-baked cookies and the usual convenience store fare will not be taking its growth to one part of town in Cedar Rapids, after objections from business owners and community members in the area.

KCRG reports that Kwik Star will not move forward with plans for a store at First Avenue and 19th Street, near the historic Brucemore mansion.

Business owners including those at Stewart-Baxter Funeral home said the project would not have fit the aesthetic of the neighborhood, where many of the business resemble residential properties. A concerned parent also spoke about the increased traffic it would bring to the area, endangering the safety of school children attending Franklin Middle School three blocks away.

Franklin parent Alicia Mayberry said

Honestly, I was worried about it being so close to the middle school, like having kids walking through the streets to and from there to get snacks

Stewart-Baxter's Jacob Wittrock had previously objected based on the dynamic that his and other businesses intentionally went out of their way to blend into the neighborhood by building "housey"-looking facilities that a Kwik Star on the corner would not match.

Cedar Rapids council member Dale Todd joined the group of concerned area citizens by penning a letter to Kwik Star saying the proposed location is "so far out of context" for the area, and urging them to halt their plans for the project. It appears they have listened, and what would have been the 10th Kwik Star in the Cedar Rapids metro area will not go in that location.