(Des Moines, IA) – On Thursday, May 28, Kum & Go opened the doors of its first-ever no-fuel, no-parking retail walk-up store in downtown Des Moines – a new concept for the 60-year-old convenience chain. The 3,000-square-foot store is located in the newly renovated Edna Griffin Building on 319 7^th Street, a landmark site in Iowa’s civil rights history.

“Kum & Go is a brand built on convenience,” said Kum & Go President, Tanner Krause. “How do we make it easier and easier for customers to interact with us?  With more and more customers living and working downtown, putting a store in the heart of Des Moines allows Kum & Go to be even more convenient for our community.”

The walk-up store has the same upscale finishes, well-lit and uncluttered aisles, and friendly staff as traditional Kum & Go locations. It features freshly prepared foods, a large assortment of beverages, and snacks with a litany of healthy options, as well as health aids, phone accessories, and craft beers and wines. The store also focuses on sustainability. Recycled paper bags will be provided instead of plastic, and compostable silverware and straws, recyclable cups and lids, and post-consumer recycled food packaging.

This pilot location also pays tribute to the legacy of Edna Griffin, the civil rights pioneer and human rights activist, with a powerful art installation by Jordan Weber, a Des Moines-based artist and activist whose work focuses on inner-city communities nationwide.

“We’re especially happy to have this store in the Edna Griffin building, the site of a pivotal moment in our country’s civil rights struggle,” continued Krause. “In 1948, the store in this space became notorious as a symbol of exclusion and prejudice. I’m honored that Kum & Go is in this same space, 70 years later, our doors proudly open to everyone.”

About Kum & Go

For over 60 years, Kum & Go has been dedicated to the communities it serves, sharing ten percent of its profits with charitable causes. For four generations the family-owned convenience store chain has focused on providing exceptional service and delivering more than customers expect. Established in Hampton, Iowa, in 1959, the chain has since grown to employ 5,000 associates in 400 stores in 11 states (Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming