Comings & Goings: QuikTrip Travel Center opens in south suburbs

By Bob Bong

Oklahoma-based QuikTrip, one of the nation’s leading convenience and gasoline retailers, opened a new Travel Center last week in Lansing.

The Lansing location opened July 20 at 17355 Torrence Ave. at the former Kmart site.

The new location features a larger lot and a more spacious store than a traditional QuikTrip. There is room to service 20 cars for gas and eight diesel bays for trucks.

“We are excited to introduce our QuikTrip Remote Travel Center in Lansing. We look forward to introducing our unique QuikTrip brand and culture to our new community,” said Aisha Jefferson-Smith, QuikTrip’s corporate communications manager.

“The Travel Center allows us to not only create meaningful connections with our new local customers in Lansing, but also serve travelers in this busy part of the country.”

The company has food delivered daily from its bakeries and commissaries.

The Lansing store features an expanded QT Kitchen with a menu of freshly-brewed coffee and iced tea, grab-and-go items like fresh doughnuts, salads, wraps, pizza by the slice and roller grill items. There are also premium specialty drinks and frozen treats, warm, soft pretzels, X-large pizzas, custom breakfast tacos, hardwood smoked BBQ sandwiches, and cold brew coffee.

The Lansing Travel Center is open 24 hours. There is no overnight truck parking.

The company donates 5 percent of its annual net profits to charitable organizations including United Way, Safe Place, local food banks, schools and scholarships for military and first responder families.

Additional Illinois locations are planned for Effingham, Mt. Vernon, Addison and Champaign.

The company was founded in 1958 and recently opened its 1,000^th store in Converse, Texas.

Loyola Medicine to open Saturday in Tinley Park

Loyola Medicine’s newest advanced ambulatory care center is set to open Saturday, July 29, at 17901 S. LaGrange Road with a ribbon cutting and celebration featuring free ice cream and tours of the facility.

The ribbon cutting will take place at 10:30 a.m. with a community event to follow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“This $69 million dollar development allows us to expand our reach to patients in the southwest suburbs, furthering our mission of being a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities,” Shawn Vincent, president and CEO of Loyola Medicine, said in a release. “We appreciate all of the Loyola Medicine colleagues who have worked so hard to build this beautiful, state-of-the-art space and expand our ability to provide exceptional care to patients where they live.”

The new location, on the southeast corner of 179th Street and La Grange Road, will provide local residents with exceptional academic medical care conveniently located in their neighborhood. It will feature specialties such as oncology, cardiology, digestive health, endocrinology, hepatology, neurology, orthopaedics, otolaryngology and audiology, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, primary care, pulmonology, radiology and sports medicine. The 70,000-square-foot, two-story structure includes a comprehensive cancer care center, urgent care center, imaging services, retail pharmacy, fifty exam rooms, eight procedure rooms, and an X-ray suite and laboratory. The facility will open with a phased in approach beginning July 31.

“The Village of Tinley Park is thrilled to have a top-notch facility like the Loyola Medicine Center here in town,” added Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz, who plans to attend the celebration. “Not only is it a welcome addition to the area that will provide tens of thousands of area residents with a place to receive quality medical care, but it will also bring much-needed jobs to Tinley Park and our surrounding communities. It’s a win all around, and we’re excited to have Loyola Medicine as a community partner.”

County Oks design work on 143^rd Street bridge

The Cook County Board of Commissioners recently approved $753,040 in funding for professional services for design engineering associated with the removal and replacement of the 143^rd Street bridge over Tinley Creek.

Also approved was $1,580,744 to purchase capital equipment to support routine maintenance activities such as roadway preservation and maintenance, drainage infrastructure cleaning and installation.

These transportation-related projects are under the auspices of the County’s Department of Transportation and Highways. These vital projects boost economic development, build up regional transportation and improve the quality of life throughout Cook County.

New online store features Forest Preserve District of Will County merchandise

A new online store created by the Forest Preserve District of Will County is open for business with nature-themed products for outdoor enthusiasts and Take It Outside Challenge participants.

The store sells T-shirts, caps, magnets and a stylish dog bandana, allowing individuals to express their love for nature. The T-shirts feature creatures and snappy sayings including, “stay trashy” for raccoons and “keep the drinks coming” for hummingbirds.

“We hope people will like the items we’ve selected,” Laura Kiran, the Forest Preserve’s director of marketing and Communications, said in a release. “Each one is truly unique, fun to wear, and they make great gifts for other nature lovers you may know.”

Proceeds from sales support The Nature Foundation of Will County, willcountynature.org, which funds various Forest Preserve initiatives. Orders can be placed through the online store, with shipping available twice a week.

The online store was inspired by the popularity of the yearlong Take It Outside Challenge; over 1,000 participants have completed more than 40,000 missions so far. Once participants saw the challenge T-shirt that was being given out to a few random winners each month, they wanted to order their own. That demand sparked the idea for the online store.
The challenge continues to offer new missions weekly, with participants earning points and prizes through the free Goosechase app. The Take It Outside Challenge is part of the broader Take It Outside Campaign, sponsored by The Nature Foundation.

For more information and to explore the Forest Preserve’s online store, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.