NC’s largest group of EV chargers and only Krystal restaurant come to this new Circle K

The Circle K gas station that recently reopened in Wilson claims two distinctions: North Carolina’s largest collection of public electric vehicle chargers and the state’s only Krystal hamburger restaurant.

Both could be harbingers of things to come.

EV chargers are becoming more common at gas stations nationwide, as chains such as BP and Shell try to draw travelers to their stores and restaurants regardless of how they fuel their cars. When it rebuilt its station at Raleigh-Durham International Airport recently, Sheetz made room for six Tesla charging stations. Along with 120 gas pumps, Buc-ee’s plans 24 EV chargers at its first North Carolina location in Mebane .

Circle K says its travel center on Raleigh Road Parkway in Wilson now has 25 EV chargers — 20 for Teslas and 5 for all other vehicles. The company claims that’s “the largest bank of EV fast chargers in North Carolina.”

First of a Krystal expansion

Meanwhile, Krystal , known for its little square hamburgers served with diced onions, pickles and mustard on steamed buns, plans to expand beyond the core Southern states where it has done business for decades. The Wilson restaurant is the first of several the company hopes to open in North Carolina in the coming years, according to spokeswoman Betsy DeMik.

“We will have more announcements soon as we bring on new franchise owners for the state,” DeMik wrote in an email.

The first Krystal opened in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1932, patterned after White Castle, the Midwestern chain that popularized little square hamburgers known as sliders. White Castles are still concentrated in the Midwest, while Krystals are found exclusively in the South .

While chains like BurgerFi and Shake Shack have brought Angus beef and brioche buns to fast food burgers, Krystal and White Castle remain inexpensive throwbacks. Customers can buy them by the dozen for not much more than a standard fast-casual burger.

Krystal has been in North Carolina before; one restaurant in Charlotte that was later turned into a McDonald’s still shows up on some Google searches.

Wilson a logical starting place

But after a change in ownership in 2020 and a merger in 2023, the company is looking to grow again, DeMik said. Wilson was a logical starting place in North Carolina, she said, because Krystal has a relationship with Circle K.

The company has a dozen other Krystals in its travel centers in the South, according to spokesman Chris Barnes.

“Krystal’s aspirations to expand into North Carolina lined up well with our plans to redevelop our Wilson location as an EV charging destination and a truck stop,” Barnes wrote in an email.

Circle K plans to open 200 EV fast-charging sites across the country this year, focusing on busy travel corridors in areas where electric vehicle sales are relatively strong. The Wilson center, just off I-95 and 40 minutes east of downtown Raleigh, “checked those boxes,” Barnes said.

“We have EV charging now at 10 Circle K locations across North Carolina, with two more currently in the pipeline,” he wrote. “And we’ll continue to evaluate opportunities to scale up our EV charging capacity at existing and future sites based on customer demand.”