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DRAPER — Kum & Go is here to stay.
The popular family-owned gas station and convenience store chain will open its first Utah store Monday, located at 13639 S. 200 West in Draper. It's the first of a few locations in the Salt Lake Valley to open in the coming months.
"We are beyond excited to open our first store in Salt Lake City. This is the culmination of years of work by our associates who are passionate about making days better in retail," said Tanner Krause, the company's CEO, in a new release. "We believe Utahns will enjoy Kum & Go's fresh perspective to the convenience industry and look forward to significant growth in the area for years to come."
The Iowa-based company first announced plans to expand into Utah in May 2021, revealing that they wanted to open about 30 stores in the Beehive State over course of the next few years, beginning in 2022. Monday's grand opening helps it reach that goal of opening this year.
The company announced Thursday that it will also open locations in Herriman, Murray and South Jordan in the first half of 2023. It is hiring full-time and part-time positions, starting at $15.25 per hour for store associates and $16.50 per hour for food associates, for its Salt Lake County expansion.
Kum & Go will join the competitive field of gas-convenience chains in Utah, like Maverik and 7-Eleven. But officials of the newcomer contend that their stores "stand out" because of the store's open-concept designs and food options, including breakfast, lunch and dinner grab-and-go items.
The new Draper location marks the 12th state Kum & Go has done business in since opening in 1959, and its first new state in over a decade. In addition to expanding in Utah, it also plans to open up shops in Idaho and Michigan for the first time in 2023. The chain already has more than 400 stores across Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Officials did not say if the company will be able to reach its ambitious Utah goal laid out last year, though. Some of the company's growth plans have hit snags, such as a proposal to replace the abandoned Sizzler restaurant by the northwest corner of Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City.
The Salt Lake City Planning Division notes that they are still waiting for revisions to the plan before the process moves forward, following feedback from the Sugar House Land Use and Zoning Committee in September. The revised plan has yet to be presented to the Salt Lake City Planning Commission.
