New convenience store opens on UW-Eau Claire campus

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Students at The University of Wisconsin Eau Claire no longer have to drive or even walk very far to get basic necessities as the T-Store had its grand opening Monday afternoon.

The store has been in the works since 2021 with construction of the store being delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The T-Store had a soft opening at the beginning of the Fall 2022 semester, now officially open as of October 3rd.

Those behind the concept say the store can provide students with a safer place to go shopping.

“We believe that this is a good thing for the for the student population. I think I mean, depending on campus, I mean, there would be more safety than go to to the street,” said Armando Chacon. “So I believe that this would be a good thing for them to to utilize this instead of going out so late night.”

Chacon, who is the general manager for Blugold Dining, says the opening of the store could mean keeping students from venturing off campus grounds.

Students came out to check out the store after the ribbon cutting.

They enjoyed free samples of products offered at the store and even entered for a raffle to win a gaming chair.

Students like Ellen Heunisch and Elle Freeman, who are both in their freshman year, say the T-Store is convenient because they can simply walk to it.

“I don’t have a car. So the the nearest Kwik Trip is like down the road and it’s like a 20 minute walk,” said Heunisch. “So if I just wanted something like like a bag of candy or something, I could just go down a couple of flights of stairs and then get some candy.”

And they also believe having the store just below them at the lobby of the Towers dormitory makes it safer for when they have to go shopping.

“Especially with the walk to Kwik Trip being like down the hill in the winter, it’s definitely a lot more difficult to get there,” said Ella Freeman.

And UW-Eau Claire Chancellor James Schmidt says more changes will come to the store as the school gets more feedback from students.

“We continue to make progress in these areas and try to listen carefully to what our students are asking for and figure out a way to provide it,” said Chancellor Schmidt.

Chacon adds, if data shows the need for it, there could even be a self serve kiosk option for overnight hours in the future.

For now the store is open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.

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