In Potosi and Tennyson, many express desire for a large business to establish themselves in the area. These options range from small grocery stores to fast food chains, and they would be a convenient option for many of our community members.

There are many different options for many large chain stores to appear in Potosi or Tennyson. One of the most requested by various community members is Kwik Trip, a well-known convenience store and gas station. Kwik Trip is popular in the state of Wisconsin because the chain is based in La Crosse. Kwik Trip has a total of 873 locations, with 506 in Wisconsin, and other locations as far west as South Dakota. 

A survey was conducted to determine the number of students in our school who would like to see a new store chain in our town. 86% of students expressed interest in Kwik Trip, 10% expressed interest in some sort of grocery store, and 6% expressed interest in a fast food restaurant such as Mcdonald's or Culver’s. 

One student said, “A Kwik Trip would suit us well.”  The students continued to discuss what they liked in Kwik Trip, such as the meals and the rewards program. Another community member said, “Kwik Trip seems to have it all.”

Although at first glance, including a Kwik Trip in Potosi or Tennyson might seem like a good idea, there are some downsides to this issue. There are two local gas stations, Tenosi Pump N’ Go, and Pine Point, which are both located in our small town. Some community members expressed disinterest in the idea of including a Kwik Trip. A group of students said that a Kwik Trip would hurt small businesses, and would be bad for the community of Potosi-Tennyson.

Others say large corporations would want nothing to do with small towns such as Potosi or Tennyson. During an interview with a community member, they claimed, “I don’t think any of those [chains] would come to Potosi; Potosi is too small. They would hurt local small businesses.” 

The possibility of a small store or a fast food restaurant is appealing to some members of our community because while a Kwik Trip might hurt small businesses, fast food and grocery stores would not because of the lack of similar stores in the area. Some community members here have to make a 20-30 minute drive just to get groceries, but a store in Potosi could reduce that time to minutes.

A group of students said they didn’t think that the Saloon or the Brewery would run out of business because they are not fast food restaurants. While it may seem that a company like McDonald's might be uninterested in building a franchise in Potosi, it has happened before with other towns. Garrison is a small town in Minnesota that is one third of Potosi’s size but still has a McDonald's. Some sort of large chain or store could benefit the community. It would give local workers jobs and would provide the population of Potosi with a way to get groceries or food. A major downside to adding a large business might be how they could hurt local businesses.