New Kwik Trip, planned car wash and massage therapy practice’s move are in the news - Steve Cahalan - La Crosse Tribune

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Steve Cahalan



There’s news this week about a new Kwik Trip about to open on La Crosse’s North Side, a review of final plans for a new car wash at the former Red Lobster restaurant site, and a massage therapy practice moving from West Salem to Sparta.



Above is the coffee bar at the new Kwik Trip store that is scheduled to open on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 1125 W. George St. in La Crosse. Hours at the new store will be 5 a.m. to midnight daily. The new store will replace a smaller, older Kwik Trip at 1133 W. George St. that soon will be razed.

Photo by Steve Cahalan, For the La Crosse Tribune


A new, much larger Kwik Trip convenience store is scheduled to open Thursday, Jan. 16, at 1125 W. George St. on the North Side of La Crosse, next to a smaller, older Kwik Trip at 1133 W. George St. that soon will be razed.


In September 2023, Kwik Trip purchased the former America’s Best Value Inn hotel at 2622 Rose St. It later razed that building to help make way for the new, larger Kwik Trip.



When this photo was taken Tuesday, crews were putting some finishing touches on the new, much larger Kwik Trip store that’s scheduled to open on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 1125 W. George St. on the North Side of La Crosse. The new store has been built next to a smaller, older Kwik Trip at 1133 W. George St. that soon will be razed.

Photo by Steve Cahalan, For the Tribune


The smaller, older Kwik Trip will close the night of Jan. 15. “Inside demolition will start on Jan. 16 and the (old) store will be torn down more than likely on Jan. 20,” Kwik Trip spokesman Ben Leibl said.

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Leibl said the new George Street store will have about 9,100 square feet of space. “The (old) store is roughly 3,600 square feet, so this (new store) will be a much-needed upgrade for us,” he said. The new store also will have a car wash, which the old store does not have.


“It was an opportunity for this location to have a bigger store to give us more visibility close to the interstate,” Leibl said of building a new store at the former location of the hotel and the old Kwik Trip. “There were also some safety concerns in the community with the hotel, and anytime that we can make the community a safer place, we will do what we can to make that happen.”


The new store will be about the same size as the Kwik Trip that opened in July 2022 at 1922 Ward Ave. on the city’s South Side.


It will employ about 45 people, Leibl said. “This is up slightly from the current store,” he said. “There will be more product for sale (at the new store), but it will also allow us to sell more of the same product that we currently have in our stores,” Leibl said.


Hours at the new store will be 5 a.m. to midnight daily. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. March 4, and an open house will be held from noon to 2 p.m. that day.


For more information, visit www.kwiktrip.com. or the company’s Facebook page.


Licensed massage therapist Sarah Allen plans to move her Body Balance Massage & Wellness, LLC, business on Monday, Jan. 13, from 126 S. Leonard St. in downtown West Salem to its new location at 106 E. Main St. in downtown Sparta.


“We purchased the building on Nov. 25,” she said, from Angela and Andrew Kast. Angela opened the Harvest Moon Boutique there last April. According to posts on the Harvest Moon Boutique and Flyway Resort Facebook pages, the boutique closed in August, the month before the Kasts bought the Flyway Resort in Phillips, Wis.


Allen said she and her husband sold their property on McKinley Valley Road in West Salem and moved to the Sparta area. “When Harvest Moon became available, it sparked interest to move closer to home,” she said.


Allen has 14 years of experience and said “I am well-versed in many massage modalities. I specialize in therapeutic deep tissue trigger point. I am also certified in Ashiastu, also known as deep feet Oriental bar therapy.


“In time, we plan to have yoga (classes) as well as a small boutique that will include my husband’s CBD products, as well as clothing and some local handmade goods,” Allen said. “My husband is the owner of Angry Elf Farms, LLC.”


For more information, call 608-780-6017 or visit the online booking site www.schedulicity.com.


Final plans for a new Crew Carwash that would be built at the site of La Crosse’s former Red Lobster restaurant are on the agenda for the Friday, Jan. 10, meeting of the city of La Crosse’s Commercial/Multi-Family Design Review Committee. The committee reviewed preliminary plans for the project in August.


Company officials haven’t yet responded to my inquiries as to when the car wash chain plans to raze the restaurant building at 3333 Hwy. 16, and when they plan to start construction on and open the car wash.


Crew Carwash is headquartered in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers, Ind., and has 50 locations, all in Indiana and Minnesota. According to its website, it has been family-owned since 1948 and is one of the largest car wash companies in the United States.


The Red Lobster restaurant closed in May 2024.


For more information about the car wash company, visit www.crewcarwash.com.



Steve Cahalan writes about business news and can be reached at stevecahalan.reporter@gmail.com.

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