Sept. 9. The Cornelius QuikTrip opens Thursday with fast food and drinks inside and nine gas pumps outside. The 5,000 square foot facility. also known as QT, sits on the site of the old Acropolis restaurant and a convenience store, both of which were demolished a year ago. The new QT will be open 24/7 as are all their other locations.

Plans for a roundabout at the immediate intersection were modified after citizen opposition. The final design incorporates twin circles north and south of the Catawba/Hwy. 21 intersection. With NCDOT timetables in disarray, the precise date for construction is unclear. In the short term, the intersection has been resurfaced and a new traffic signal installed.

The Tulsa, OK-based chain of convenience stores opened in 1958 as a fast food outlet, expanding to gasoline sales in 1971. With the opening of their Cornelius location, there are now more than 835 QT stores in the US, mainly in the southeast, south and Midwest, with over 24,000 employees.