All four of Iowa City’s Maverik locations, formally the gas station chain Kum & Go, are currently undergoing a rebranding process following the company’s plan to relaunch in November 2024.
Maverik locations can be found at 323 E. Burlington St., 1310 S Gilbert St., 2303 Muscatine Ave., and 731 South Riverside Drive in Iowa City.
Maverik has always owned Kum & Go, but decided to move toward remodeling locations for a “fresh perspective,” according to their website.
The popular Midwest gas station chain offers a variety of services, including electric car charging stations and air pumps. The stations also serve hot food, as well as drinks and personal care items.
Maverik, the parent brand of Kum & Go, was founded in Wyoming in 1928 and has mostly focused its stores on the West Coast, but has over 800 locations across 21 states. On its website, the company offers a Q&A section for customers curious about the rebranding process and an updated remodel schedule for all its locations.
Maverik offers a variety of deals for members of their rewards program, something that has changed since they started their rebranding process. The company has also implemented a self-checkout option at stores and has updated its gas pump options, so customers can now use a QR code to pay for gas.
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Micah Marks, an employee at a Maverik in Iowa City, expressed his excitement for the changes, calling them amazing. He specifically mentioned the self-checkout options, which he said give him time to do more tasks while customers are in the store.
“Some of it is an adjustment period,” he said, “But I still think [the changes] have been better.”
Management at the locations being renovated has not changed, and according to Marks, many things have remained the same behind the scenes.
Marks said the new pump and computer system have been helpful to him as an employee and customer.
Cieria Chance, a Maverik employee who is trained to work at all Iowa City locations, said all staff attended a training before the changes began to teach employees how to run the new systems. Chance said the transition has, so far, been an easy one.
“It’s been a pretty smooth transition, more than I thought it would be,” she said. “I think just the transition for the customers is the biggest challenge because it’s something new to them that a lot of them haven’t experienced.”
Chance said employees go out of their way to help customers who might need help navigating the new changes across all locations in Iowa City, like the gas pumps or self checkout, but so far, there have not been many new challenges.
Chance also said the public reaction to the rebrand has been positive and highlighted the ease self-checkouts have created on gamedays.
“A lot of people are uncomfortable with change,” she said, “But change is a good thing for the most part.”
Halle Robinson, an Iowa City resident, said she heard about the rebrand about a year ago and hasn’t been impacted by the changes. Robinson has been a long-time customer of Kum & Go, and said it will be hard for her to call the gas station Maverik.
“It’s just kind of strange. Kum & Go has been here my whole life and now it’s gonna be something else,” she said.