Mar. 28—A new convenience store chain that's expanding to the Pikes Peak region could mean the end of an era for a half-century-old shopping center on Colorado Springs' east side that's been known more for its quirky location over the years than as a retail hot spot.

QuikTrip, the Tulsa, Okla.-based chain of nearly 1,000 convenience stores in 17 states, has submitted a proposal to Springs city government officials that shows it has contracted to buy the Polo Center, northeast of Academy and Palmer Park boulevards.

QuikTrip would demolish the roughly 40,000-square-foot shopping center to make way for a 5,312-square-foot store and an eight-pump, covered fuel station, according to the proposal.

It would be QuikTrip's second store in the Colorado Springs area.

The chain is building a roughly 8,200-square-foot travel center southwest of Baptist Road and Interstate 25 in Monument, north of the Springs; QuikTrip launched the larger-format, travel center stores a few years ago to serve heavily traveled areas and roadways and to leverage the chain's distribution network around the country, Aisha Jefferson-Smith, QuikTrip's corporate communications manager, said via email.

"We are expanding our travel center network around the country," she said. "We have one under construction in Monument ... and one in development in Pueblo. As part of our travel center strategy, we will build standard c-stores (convenience stores) in strong positions in the metro areas near our travel centers."

Asked about the timetable for the store proposed on the site of the Polo Center, including when QuikTrip might complete the property's purchase and when demolition and construction would begin, Jefferson-Smith said the chain "is in the early planning stages of this development."

Still, she said later in her email that "we look forward to opening our doors late summer of 2024." QuikTrip plans to hire more than 20 people and that the store would be equipped with a kitchen to prepare fresh, made-to-order food, sandwiches, wraps, salads and drink items, Jefferson-Smith said.

A limited liability company apparently controlled by Denver-based Dikeou Realty bought the Polo Center out of foreclosure in early 2012, El Paso County land records show. Dikeou representatives didn't return multiple phone calls about the fate of the shopping center.

Built in 1970, according to land records, the 3.35-acre Polo Center is a retail island, of sorts.

It sits south of LaSalle Street and north of Palmer Park Boulevard — and is sandwiched between the northbound lanes of busy Academy Boulevard on its east side and Academy's southbound lanes on its west side.

Its location in the middle of Academy provides great visibility and access; thousands of motor vehicles pass by daily and both north and southbound motorists can turn into the shopping center without driving to the next stop light on Academy and making a U-turn.

As convenient as the Polo Center might be, however, many tenants have left the aging shopping center over the years — going out of business or flocking to faster-growing parts of town. A recent check shows only five tenants remain: the House of Yakitori II and Tan Phat restaurants, a State Farm insurance agent, Ramsels' Watch Repair and Eyewear Repair of Colorado.

And though not as trendy as shopping centers along Powers Boulevard farther east or in the red-hot InterQuest area on the Springs' north side, the Polo Center has been a favorite location for businesses such as House of Yakitori II, which features Japanese dishes.

The restaurant is marking its 30th year at the Polo Center, said owner Reilly Fetter. He and his wife, Saira, bought the restaurant about six years ago from Reilly's parents, Sid and Chalee Fetter.

Reilly said an uncle opened a House of Yakitori around 1991 in the Audubon shopping center southeast of Union Boulevard and Van Buren Street in the central part of the Springs. His parents then opened the Polo Center location in 1993; though Reilly now owns the business, his parents still help out.

The Polo Center has been a great location for the family owned restaurant, Fetter said, and many customers are familiar with the location, which has ample parking. Early on, the restaurant occupied one space, but then knocked down a wall, took over another space and doubled its footprint.

Fetter said he didn't know about the Polo Center's possible sale until told about it last week by The Gazette. He and his wife signed a new three-year lease in December, though Fetter said the shopping center owner can terminate the deal with six months notice.

"It's heartbreaking," Fetter said. "My family has been in this area for over 30 years, with this business we've had over three generations. I grew up in this business. It's heartbreaking, it really is."

If the restaurant must move, Fetter said he'd hope to stay in the same area of the Springs or possibly move farther north.

"I put my faith in God that we're going to be OK," he said "We're hard-working people. It's just going to be a struggle to kind of find a new place when the day does come. Really, there's nothing we can do but wait and plan. But no matter what, it's heartbreaking."

State Farm insurance agent John Hall, who's leased space at the Polo Center since January 2001, also didn't know about the shopping center's possible sale and demolition until told about it by The Gazette. He's on a month-to-month lease, but now knows he might have to prepare to move.

"Shock and surprise," Hall said of the changes coming to the shopping center. "The first thing I'm going to do is try to get in touch with the owner and find out if it's true. ... And then from that step, I would be proactive, of course, and look for a new location so that I'm not further caught off guard and being reactive. I have to take care of my business."

The Polo Center is showing its age, Hall said. Among several problems, its roof leaks and the parking lot has its share of potholes, he said.

Still, the owners are quick to make repairs and have been responsive when he calls, Hall said.

"It's a great location," he said. "The city's grown, where a lot of things have (moved), of course, north and east. It's kind of outgrown the location with where all the new buildings and population has gone. But we still enjoy being there because it's still central. We've got a lot of (clients) that know us at that location."

QuikTrip might be considering additional Colorado Springs locations. Preliminary submittals made by QuikTrip to city planners show it's looking at sites west of Academy and Austin Bluffs Parkway and near Academy and Flintridge Drive.

QuikTrip opened its first three Colorado stores last year in Denver, Bennett and Firestone; a fourth opened in Parker in late February, according to online news stories.