TULSA, Okla. – Is it a restaurant or a convenience store? That’s likely to be the question customers ask when walking into a QuikTrip truck stop in Tulsa, Tulsa World reports. The chain has launched a pilot program of QT Kitchens, a new, in-store restaurant with seating. A drive-thru window will debut later this fall. 

The concept serves drinks, desserts, pizza, wraps, sandwiches and flatbreads. Customers order at the counter, either from staff or via a touch screen. “Food is a big part of our long-term strategy,” said Mike Thornbrugh, a QuikTrip spokesman. “We decided to start this sit-down restaurant to see if it’s something customers would be interested in and a business we could be proficient at.”

The restaurant’s name is taken from the company’s in-house foodservice department, which prepares the hot food items for all stores. QuikTrip hasn’t decided how long the testing will go before the company broadens the program to other stores.

At the test location, QT Kitchens offers the same food found at the front of the store, such as hot dogs and pizza slices. “We’ll probably expand the menu over time and test new things,” said Thornbrugh.

Customers can pay for any store item along with their restaurant order at the same time. While the restaurant opened a few weeks ago, it’s early days on whether it’s a success. “So far, so good,” he said. “We have a lot to learn, and we have to educate customers.”