Vol. 14, No. 52
Thursday Oct. 6, 2022
Opelika, Alabama
FRED ERi CK-DEAN Covering Lee County, Alabama
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Hungry? In A Hurry? QuikTrip is Open in Opelika OPELIKA — QuikTrip (QT), one of the nation’s leading convenience and gasoline retailers, announced the opening of a new remote travel center in Opelika. The retailer has recently opened two other travel center locations in Calera and Cottondale, making this the third location to open in Alabama this year. The first customers were greeted on the opening day of business Sept. 29 at 3001 Gateway Drive, near Tiger Town. The Travel Center features a larger designed lot and a more spacious store than a traditional QT. The Travel Center has room to service 20 cars for gas and six
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY QT
CONTRIBUTED BY QT
diesel bays for trucks. “We are excited to introduce our QuikTrip Remote Travel Center in Opelika,” said Amy Gulizia, division manager for QT’s Remote Store Network. “We look forward to introducing our
unique QuikTrip brand and culture to our new community. The Travel Center allows us to not only create meaningful connections with our new local customers in Opelika, but also serve
Key Media Releases Podcast Covering Lee County
travelers in this busy part of the country.” QT’s new store model was created specifically for highly traveled areas of the country that are also within a reasonable proximity to a QT Distribution
Center for access to fresh food. For decades people have looked to QT for an onthe-go snack or sandwich. The company offers a full-service kitchen with fresh, made-to-order
snackles, as well as fresh food delivered daily through its bakeries and commissaries. Opelika customers can enjoy the full line of QT snackles, including freshly-brewed coffee and fresh-brewed QTea, as well as its complete menu of grab-and-go items like fresh donuts, salads, wraps, QT’s signature pizza by the slice and roller grill items. The Opelika Travel Center also features an expanded QT Kitchens location, offering fresh, madeto-order food, premium specialty drinks and tasty frozen treats. QT Kitchens customer favorites include warm, soft pretzels, extra-large pizzas, custom See QT, page A3
Communities Mourn Opelika Icon
DICHIARA BY WIL CREWS SPORTSCREWS@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM
LEE COUNTY — Key Media Inc., the parent company of The Observer, Live Lee Magazine and Neighborhood Tour Home & Real Estate magazine, is proud to announce the release of its newest news medium, “The Lee County Listener” podcast. Hosted by Sam DiChiara and Garrett Martinez, the goal of the podcast is
MARTINEZ to share the good news in Lee County. The first episode officially dropped on Monday, Oct. 3, covering the upcoming travel issue of LIVE Lee and Auburn football. Episodes can be expected weekly. DiChiara is a journalist and photojournalist, an Auburn local and a graduate of Auburn University's English program. He's bringing his extensive backgrounds in both writing and public speaking together for Key Media's brand-new podcast.
Each week, he will be discussing the big events going on in the community he said he loves and calls home, and interviewing community members about everything listeners may want to hear about. Martinez is a native of Dallas, Georgia, and graduated Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. His passions are writing and photography. Outside of his professional See PODCAST, page A5
OPELIKA — It is hard to find the words to express the grief that the Opelika and Auburn communities share after the news of the death of Opelika icon, Lorna Roberts. Roberts died at her home on Friday, Sept. 30. Born to Loren and Elouise Sutton on March 28, 1957, Roberts graduated from Opelika High School in 1975. She married her sweetheart, Don Roberts, at the tender age of 16. She and Don were married 44 years before Don died in September 2017 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. The couple had two children, Michael and
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER
BY MICHELLE KEY MICHELLE@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM
Allyson, and four grandchildren, all of whom she adored. The Roberts frequently dined at Cafe 123 in downtown Opelika — so frequent that owner John Robert Wood dedicated a booth to the couple. “He [Don] always
sat at the same booth, and he wanted that last booth so that he could see the room … and that was just his booth," Head Chef Eron Bass told The Observer in 2017. "... He had a love for food that you don't See ROBERTS, page A6
CONTENTS
OPINION ..................... A4 ENTERTAINMENT ........... A7 OBITUARIES ............... A14 RELIGION ................... A15 COMICS ....................... A16 SPORTS ........................ B1 POLITICS ..................... B11 PUBLIC NOTICES ........... B12 CLASSIFIEDS .......... B14 PUZZLES ..................... B15