The senior lunch bell rings and you just realized that you forgot your lunch. Chipotle? No, it’s too far. Panera? Sorry, but I can’t pay $9 for a salad and soup. McDonald’s? Not again. So, where to go? That morning filling up the car at Quick Trip there was a sign that said, “QT Kitchens.” This should be good.

The wait during my senior lunch slot time was less than a minute. It didn’t take long to decide on a chicken quesadilla flatbread and a fruit smoothie. The flatbread was much more than expected with the warm bread melting through its paper cover. The ingredients? Fresh. The smoothie was also a pleasant surprise. The grand total ended up being less than five dollars.

Fresh made-to-order food, premium drinks and frozen treat selections are available at the full-service Quick Trip counters each day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. QuikTrip is in the process of installing “QT Kitchens” full-service counters in most locations across the U.S., according to quicktrip.com.

“I just wish that they were open 24 hours like the rest of Quick Trip is,” junior Lia Ehren said.

Their menu includes a variety of toasted sandwiches, personal pizzas, different types of soft pretzels, flatbreads, kolaches, frozen treats, specialty coffee drinks, fruit smoothies and frozen lemonades.

“My favorite are the different kinds of soft pretzels because you can get regular, parmesan, or cinnamon sugar,” senior Uzoamaka Obi said.

Just like their other home-made food items, these foods are made fresh every day. According to Joyce Smith of the Kansas City Star, currently, 46 of the 83 Kansas City area QuikTrips have the new QT kitchens — including stores in Belton, Blue Springs, Bonner Springs, Gardner, Grandview, Harrisonville, Independence, North Kansas City, Kansas City, Lee’s Summit, Lenexa, Mission, Olathe, Overland Park, Raytown, Roeland Park and Shawnee. And even though this new phenomenon just opened, Quick Trip should be applauded for continuing to be “the” convenient store of any high schooler’s needs- now with some class.