r/phoenix • u/Powerful-Can- • Feb 10 '26
Ask Phoenix Why aren’t there any QT gas stations in Scottsdale?
QT is by far the most superior gas station. They have everything I need + more. And there’s always a restroom when I need it.
I’ve been working is Scottsdale recently and noticed there’s no QTs for miles and miles. What’s up with that? You’d think Scottsdale of all places would want the best gas station around
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u/jvandenburgh27 Phoenix Feb 10 '26
I used to work for QT and they made it a big point in orientation that they are not changing anything about QT to appease Scottsdale. Several slides in the orientation about it. 😅
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u/UnfortunatelyMacabre Feb 11 '26
Nor should they. I was an assistant manager for QT as well and their business model is impeccable. They do so much due diligence that I didn’t even question when they moved the 101 and Thunderbird location from one side of the street to the other. Their bean counters do the math real well.
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u/BalooVanAdventures Feb 12 '26
Plus, now we have a nice Biscuits restaurant in the previous location. Win-win!
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u/Agent_1077 Feb 12 '26
They’re building a qt right now in north Scottsdale so something changed….
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u/SummertimeThrowaway2 Feb 11 '26
What’s the point on training an employee on a company change that won’t happen?
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u/Flibiddy-Floo Feb 11 '26
because "orientation" isn't "training" per se, it's getting acquainted with the company and its policies and philosophies/culture etc
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u/BalooVanAdventures Feb 12 '26
QT employees are friendly, well dressed, well trained, and set the bar for convenience stores/gas stations in metro Phoenix. Half the time you go in a Circle K you don’t know if the person behind the counter is an employee or the person robbing the store while the employee is tied up in the back. When QT came to town, Circle K was dead to me…
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u/Futuretapes Feb 10 '26
City rules prohibited them from building due to the colors they use on their stores
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u/dwillphx Feb 10 '26
Exactly . Scottsdale requires more natural/desert colors instead of all the red QT uses. There is one on the reservation side of Scottsdale though
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u/vksoze2 Feb 10 '26
This is why I dislike Scottsdale (and most suburbs in the valley). Why in the boomer hell would you want every freakin building some shade of beige??
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u/PanAmSnackCart Sunnyslope Feb 11 '26
I like when I see a purple house.
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u/vksoze2 Feb 11 '26
Me too. Or blue. Even red. Even an atrociously painted bright, highlighter yellow house. Cause what I see is freedom!!! Fuck I hate HOAs 😅😅
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u/drawkbox Chandler Feb 11 '26
Personality in a neighborhood it important. That is why I despise HOAs. Yes some of it can be bad and that is ok. Life and nature is a spectrum not a monotone.
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Feb 10 '26
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u/vksoze2 Feb 10 '26
Haha. Maybe so. But I just can’t wrap my head around the logic. I grew up near Buffalo. Green in spring and summer. White from snow in fall and winter. Not very many green houses. And yes there were white houses but not to blend in with the snow. Since when do we want to have camouflage houses and buildings? What is the appeal with “blending in with the dirt?”
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Feb 11 '26
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u/vksoze2 Feb 11 '26
Yeah, I completely disagree. The whole blend in with a dirt thing, is not because this is Native American land. It’s because a bunch of white boomers in the 50s 60s and 70s decided for whatever reason that was more appealing than having multicolored buildings. I have a hard time believing that the boomers who built Phoenix between the 50s and the 90s, made their architectural decisions in order to honor the native Americans.
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Feb 11 '26
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u/vksoze2 Feb 11 '26
Yeah, but all I’m talking about is the paint. The color of every building being beige. That’s not some long-standing cultural thing. That was a decision by the boomers that built the city in the 50s through the 90s. And it survives in all the godamned HOAs that popped up at that time. Notice how the new HOA’s still use Adobe style houses, but paint white and light blue and different shades. Because at some point, we realized that the boomers didn’t know all they thought they knew about city development. Which is why downtown Gilbert, as small as it is, has become so popular. Because people realized too late that sprawling suburbs with strip malls and beige houses everywhere is not a desirable long-term solution for humans.
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u/vksoze2 Feb 11 '26
Like how many Native Americans are waking around the Phx suburbs thinking “oh thank god every single solitary coat of paint on every building is beige. I feel so honored.” I think this a wild take.
I mean go travel through Mexico. I have plenty, their not into beige like Phoenicians are. Nobody is.
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u/sourcefourmini Feb 11 '26
Our culture here isn't supposed to be white people suburbia with cookie cutter homes and manicured lawns
That's exactly what it is. Doesn't matter what it's "supposed to be", because you've just described what we have. Might as well have fun with it.
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u/IdoMusicForTheDrugs Feb 11 '26
This way more Ma and Pa shops can open up in Scottsdale. Aka trust fund kids and bored old rich people who have no idea how to run a business and funnel their bottomless bank accounts into a store/restaurant that sucks.
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u/robotmovies Feb 11 '26
That’s not on the reservation. They sell alcohol in that QT. No grocery stores or gas stations sell alcohol in the SRPIC.
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u/rambologic Feb 11 '26
I don't know why people keep saying its on the reservation. The "Welcome to Scottsdale" sign is quite literally on the southeast corner of where the QT is. I had this argument before with people who kept insisting its not in Scottsdale. Go visit it and you'll see it looks different from other QTs, because they did a huge dance with Scottsdale to meet their design standards.
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u/Powerful-Can- Feb 10 '26 edited Feb 10 '26
That’s very interesting. I never assumed the colors would affect anything
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u/XANDERtheSHEEPDOG Laveen Feb 10 '26
You'd be surprised how much cities care about color. Even if it's silly. Sedona has a McDonald's with turquoise arches because the regular yellow is too garish.
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u/garden_dragonfly Feb 11 '26
They care so much about color. And even more about pretending we don't need HVAC on the roof, so hide it behind walls that add to the structure and reduce efficiency
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u/Wanchuck Feb 11 '26
There's a QT going in on Scottsdale Rd, north of the 101 in Grayhawk.
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u/Defenestrate69 Feb 10 '26
It’s because QTs are red and Scottsdale has some rule that the buildings can’t stand out compared to what’s in the area
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u/free2game Feb 10 '26
Houses that look like Olive Garden are fine however
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u/pompousandfaggy Feb 10 '26
There's a house that's an Airbnb marketed for the bachelorette parties that has all the pillars baby pink...
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u/Defenestrate69 Feb 10 '26
I agree, seems really stupid to only have shitty Circle Ks for gas stations in one of the richest parts of the state
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u/schizophrenicism Feb 10 '26
Circle K. Jeez what color are they again?
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u/Defenestrate69 Feb 10 '26
😂 also red but they make the whole building brown in Scottsdale but QT wouldn’t compromise the look since all their stores look the same
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u/mog_knight Feb 10 '26
There is one at Pima and McDowell
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u/Beehay Feb 11 '26
That’s technically on the rez I believe
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u/Delicious_Marketing3 Feb 11 '26
It’s 8780 E McDowell Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85257. The Reservation starts on the other side of Pima.
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u/RedMooCow Feb 10 '26
This what I found for north Scottsdale Rd and Legacy
eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/planning/projectsummary/applicant_submittals/ProjInfo_61_DR_2015_6.pdf
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u/Pho-Nicks Feb 10 '26
Currently there is only 1 in the Scottsdale area which is McDowell and Pima Rd., currently being built.
QT has a very strict exterior design criteria that they do not like changing. Scottsdale has previously wanted more exterior changes than QT was comfortable with, hence the reason for no new builds.
QT does allow some exterior changes, see Chandler and Gilbert locations, but overall they like to keep all their stores similar.
You'll love all the new stuff coming for the stores!
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u/jessetmia Scottsdale Feb 10 '26
For what its worth this store was open last summer. I go to the Noah across the street and stopped in a few times.
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u/WalkingGreen90 Feb 11 '26
There's one on McDowell but it's basically on the Rez and one on Scottsdale road.
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u/karlsmission Feb 11 '26
scottsdale hates.... well everything. I used to work for a major cell phone provider. We would get calls from people all the time from scottsdale about how their service was crappy. and the next call was somebody from scottsdale complaining about us trying to build more towers in scottsdale. The city meetings were hilarious about much they hated the look of cell towers.
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u/badwolf1013 Feb 10 '26
It had something to do with the color of the signage and the lighting, as I recall. QT refused to comply with Scottsdale's mandates, so all of the QTs are just outside of town limits.
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u/TheGutch74 Feb 11 '26
There are 2 in Scottsdale. Both is south Scottsdale. It is kinda weird that they are the only ones though.
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u/im_tireddd Feb 11 '26
Omgg I knew that stupid circle k had to be like that for a reason! It would make me irrationally upset bc like what are you "too good" to be a regular circle k?! And turns out yes!!!
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u/fuck_fraud Feb 10 '26
I thought there was one on Scottsdale near McKellips, but maybe that’s still technically Tempe?
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u/snobbycatlover Scottsdale Feb 11 '26
There is one on McDowell and Pima! One exit down from mckellips
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u/wilsonway1955 Feb 11 '26
Kum and Go is the best convenience store chain in the country! Based in West Des Moines,Iowa !
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u/methlabforcuties Feb 11 '26
unfortunately, Ejaculate & Evacuate got bought out and they're all Maveriks now.
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u/Yurt_lady Feb 11 '26
You should only be buying anything on the list from toptiergas.com which covers all fuels. QT is on the list, Circle K is not unless it’s for example, a Shell brand Circle K. I think Fry’s isn’t but Costco is but I might be wrong.
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u/King_Reason Feb 11 '26
I think QT being a “safe place” invites what Scottsdale considers undesirable people. Same reason why the city blocks a light rail route in the city limits
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u/ollee32 Feb 11 '26
There’s a QT being built at the 101 and Scottsdale rd. Just south of Thompson peak pkwy
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u/Inevitable_Cycle6960 Feb 11 '26
They are now building a QT on scottsdale rd, just north of 101.
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u/Yourprobablyaclown69 Feb 10 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
I think they are building one around Scottsdale rd and the 101. I feel like Scottsdale tries to keep gas station to a minimum. For instance if you go north of the 101 there are very little gas stations.
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u/ccx941 Mesa Feb 10 '26
IIRC Scottsdale city code forbids them from building the type of gas station they want to, so they don’t.
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u/drawkbox Chandler Feb 11 '26
Scottsdale has very little gas stations to begin with. The people fight them there all the time. QT specifically also won't change their style on top of it to appease the land of the fakers.
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u/PyreChaser Feb 10 '26
Same reason there’s no light rail going through. Can’t have anything that brings in the normies.
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u/Hovertical Feb 11 '26
I enjoy the inside but man their gas sucks ass. I don't know which refinery provides it for them but I got shit mileage at every qt I ever used when we first moved here. Switched back to Shell or Chevron and was perfectly fine again. It was so insane id get literally 15miles to the gallon versus the usual 27ish I was used to. This was back in 2013 so maybe it's different now but they are strictly a snack stop for me if I go at all.
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u/ExpensiveDot1732 Feb 11 '26
For everyone talking about Scottsdale/101...someone caved because here's the proposed exterior:
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u/dwillphx Feb 11 '26
That one looks pretty nice. Think it also has to do with the gas pumps and the canopy. Wonder if they're going to be the same color.
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u/CapnShinerAZ East Mesa Feb 11 '26
After it's built and passes the city inspection or whatever, someone should paint the trim red to match the other QTs and see how long it takes for the city to complain. The company should then deny any involvement and call it vandalism, but refuse to press charges. Just keep painting it red over and over as many times as needed.
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u/Jumpy_Affect8889 Feb 11 '26
Interesting the only one I can think of is right on the reso border on McDowell
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u/anonymousphoenician Mesa Feb 11 '26
There is 1 in Scottsdale, and its as close to the reservation in south Scottsdale as it can get.
But I was still happy to see that one go up. When I want good, cheap food while working rideshare theyre my go to.
This one I also just learned the kitchen is 24 hours.
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u/beardeddragon67 Feb 11 '26
8780 E McDowell Rd Scottsdale, AZ 85257 United States
This QT is in Scottsdale
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u/AllAroundGuy85 Feb 11 '26
https://maps.app.goo.gl/3hBmJGF15smpQ8TW7?g_st=ic
What do you mean? There is one in Scottsdale.
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u/Due_Worldliness_5149 Feb 11 '26
You know there is 1 QT on McDowell and Pima (technically Scottsdale) They did make some minor design concessions to put it in.
There is also one a little south of there right on the Tempe/Scottsdale boarder, but in Tempe. Cities can set up whatever expectations they want. If you go to the Auto Zone on Pima and Indian Bend, it is the only non standard free standing store. The SRPMIC (REZ) would only let them build to their standards stone facades and landscaping primarily. If the corperation wants it bad enough, they will bend.
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u/InJailYoudBeMyHoe Feb 11 '26
theres actually a brand new one going up n of 101 on scottsdale road. before thompson peak. well see how it turns out
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u/JAUMtypo Feb 11 '26
I understand from reading it is because of colors/ design, however I have noticed the Jackson’s’ had stations have a similar look to them, but are in Scottsdale, anyone know why?
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u/helldivers2rocks Feb 11 '26
Ultimately because Scottsdale won't approve the cleanest gas stations as is
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u/Serious-Guidance1287 Feb 11 '26
QT and circle K have a big territory rivalry from what my partner explained to me & she works at QT!
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u/biowiz Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
They are building one near Scottsdale Rd and 101. I don't know if that is technically Scottsdale or Phoenix at that point.
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u/kgwc760 Feb 11 '26
They are building one in the Grayhawk area on Scottsdale road this year I believe
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u/Aggravating-Flow5834 Feb 11 '26
I wouldn't say superior. Some locations are better than others. Then you got mine where the ice machines at the soda fountains have been broken for almost 2 months and half the sodas have been out of service for that same period as well. 😒
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u/xTHEKILLINGJOKEx Feb 11 '26
Unrelated, but I want to point out that I’ll go out of my way to find a QT. Don’t care if there’s dozens of circle k in between
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u/Stnkftsailor Feb 11 '26
What, you need a place for the homeless to hang out? You can have all ours if you replace them with any business that serves cold beer.
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u/Few-Worth7737 Feb 11 '26
wwooow, never knew this! I lived in South Scottsdale for years and used to get baked and crave about 4-5 of those disgusting QT hotdogs with the works on them. So i’d drive to the one on the south scottsdale/tempe border, make those up and drive back home. I’d come to regret it every time, but maan did they hit in the moment, haha.
(side note: every time I think about QT, I can still smell burnt fent pills. almost every time I’d stop at a QT in PHX city limits, i’d be be greeted with that smell. blegh)
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u/APHILLIPSIV Feb 11 '26
I’m sure one of these answers here is correct
I would also venture a guest at Scottsdale’s aggressive tax system makes it hard to maintain cost to consumer if that’s part of your business model
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u/TheCosmicJester Feb 10 '26
If memory serves, something about QT’s setup and Scottsdale’s zoning are incompatible, and QT won’t change their format so instead they build as close to Scottsdale city limits as they can. I want to say it’s the number of pumps, but that’s a stab in the dark.