Friday, March 24, 2017

RaceTrac Planning to Join East Cobb Community

RaceTrac planning new location in East Cobb

Atlanta based RaceTrac is planning a new gas station and convenience store at the corner of Old Canton and Roswell Roads in East Cobb.  The new RaceTrac would replace California Car Wash, located in an outparcel of the Walmart Neighborhood Market anchored Olde Mill shopping center.  

The .874 acre parcel was previously zoned for the development of a drugstore in 2010, and was an Exxon gas station prior to its current use.  

RaceTrac plans to construct a 10 pump gas station and4,425 square foot convenience store.  Both the number of pumps and the square footage of the convenience store were reduced from typical new RaceTracs given the size of the parcel.   

Although the parcel is small, the new RaceTrac will still offer enhanced offerings of free WiFi, Swirl World frozen yogurt and expanded coffee options.  

As my friends at The Brookhaven Post reported last year, RaceTrac is also building a new gas station and convenience store in Brookhaven.  The 5,500 square foot convenience store and 16 pump gas station is being built as the corner of Dresden Drive and Clairmont Road. The existing buildings on the property were demolished a few weeks ago with construction expected to start "in the second quarter of this year," with plans to open by the end of the year.

A RaceTrac representative who confirmed both the number of pumps and C-store plans for East Cobb indicated that plans are "still being finalized."   RaceTrac "will likely not commence construction until the third quarter of next year, meaning an early 2019 opening."   

The soon-to-open QuikTrip in the background 
An existing QuikTrip gas station and convenience store across the street was demolished last year and is expected to reopen late next month as one of QT's "Gen Three" units. The new QT will feature an approximately 5,600 square foot convenience store, larger than its predecessor, with the number of pumps remaining the same at 16.  The QT parcel was also enlarged to make room for the new convenience store.  At 3.6 acres, the QT property is nearly four times as large as the RaceTrac parcel across the street. 

Are you excited for the additions of not only a new QuikTrip but a new RaceTrac too?  Where do you purchase most of your gas?  What "enhanced offering" of convenience stores has impressed you most?

Please share your thoughts below.   

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW! Did not see that coming! The car wash looked like it was doing well. Don't love or hate this. RaceTrac is just okay. Always liked the old QT and missed it when it was gone. Glad that its going to open next month. Surprisingly good pizza on the go. Hope they have a price war! Lol! Competition is good and RaceTrac would help out that shopping center.

Maria A said...

I will pass a QT to go to RaceTrac any day. The new RT's are really nice. Can't wait for it to open!��

Maria A said...

I will pass a QT to get to a RT! I love their new stores. RT even has boiled peanuts now! Keep up the good work RT

Anonymous said...

In the 70's I worked in gas stations. Most gas stations back then did not have self serve. We gas jockeys greeted you at the driver's window; pumped your gas, checked the oil and tire pressure, and cleaned the windshield, all as the gas was pumping. Customers never had to leave the driver seat. The stations also offered oil changes, tires, and general repairs.

A Phillips 66 station I worked near Dunwoody was one of the first in the metro area to offer milk, and later bags of charcoal. At the time we thought it was ridiculous and hilarious to buy milk at a gas station. Surely the station's owners were crazy!

Remember gas station street maps? Most of you probably never navigated using a paper map retrieved from the glove box that unfolded from 4" X 9" to a giant 32" X 45". They were so unwieldy, it was common the see a vehicle stopped on the side of the road, with the driver standing in front studying the map he has spread across the hood of the car! It was more of a challenge to correctly re-fold one of those oil company maps than to solve Rubik's cube, which had not even been invented yet. And Rubik’s cube can’t help you find Elm Street.

Alas I was a scoffer – not a visionary. I did not foresee hot dogs and donuts replacing oil changes and tune ups. Those vending machines with sodas, candy and cigarettes were dinosaurs, doomed to extinction.

Several years ago during a career transition, a friend who worked for RaceTrac corporate helped me get an interview, ostensibly for a position in the corporate office. However I found myself interviewing with a man young enough to be my youngest son – for a position in one of the stores. I'm guessing I about 30 years older than he was. I don't think I ever had a chance with him. Of course labor laws prohibited him from speaking his mind about my age, but he did mention more than a few times how physically demanding the job would be.

Although I really did not want to work in a RaceTrac store, I did want them to offer – and I would have declined. So I went for it, describing my previous experience, doing all the thing we used to do in gas stations all the while selling milk and charcoal too. And we offered S&H Green Stamps, so we also had to keep up with that every day!

Is there anyone who disagrees that changing spark plugs in an engine is harder and requires more skill than loading hot dogs onto a roller grill?

I never got the job offer or even a second interview. I guess some kids just can't relate...oh well, it's their loss.

Anonymous said...

You mentioned the "free WiFi, Swirl World frozen yogurt and expanded coffee options" but will they still have the "made-to-order" food area? Thanks!

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon RE: "made to order food"

Yes, the new RaceTrac will have made-to-order-food as well as other other enhanced offerings.

I'm sorry if this was unclear in the original post.

Thanks for your comments and readership.

Anonymous said...

Don't remember RaceTrac being around in the 70's but I did
do the gas jockey thing at a couple of Tenneco's (if anyone
remembers them).

Anonymous said...

Whoops, missed that. You never mentioned RaceTrac being around
back then..

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to the RaceTrac.

The QT was always bust and it was very difficult to get into and out of the parking lot, thus I chose to purchase fuel at other vendors.

The QT was closed recently and they moved the building 90 degrees and reset the fuel island.


The benefits are more parking and access to the fuel pumps.

Racetrack is opening many stores in the area. I have found them to be very clean.

I hope the RaceTrac offers all grades of fuel.

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