CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J. – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie visited QuickChek’s newest store in Cedar Knolls on March 23, to support the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based convenience store chain’s 50 years of growth from a single location to 148 locations and 4,050 employees.

“QuickChek is a good news company,” Christie said, in citing the chain’s continued growth and success during an address on positive job growth in the state. “I want to thank Dean Durling and the folks at QuickChek; they’re a great New Jersey company and I appreciate the investment they’re making in our state.”

The family-owned company has enjoyed steady growth, opening 40 new stores and hiring an additional 1,400 team members over the past nine years, through innovation and a focus on fresh products and friendly employees, and now serves local communities throughout the Garden State, as well as the Hudson Valley and Long Island in New York.

The latest federal employment data released last week shows that private-sector employment under Christie’s administration has reached a record high, as the state’s unemployment rate is falling and job growth and labor participation rates are outpacing the national rates.

In February, New Jersey employers added 12,300 private-sector jobs, while the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.4%, below the national rate of 4.7%, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).