End of an Era: Iowa Kum & Go Stores Will Soon Be Gone

The Iowa convenience store with the awkward name will soon be a thing of the past. Prepare to say goodbye to Kum & Go.

Des Moines-based Kum & Go was purchased by Maverick in April 2023, according to the Des Moines Register. It then announced in late 2024 that all Kum & Go locations would be turned into Maverick stores, but no timeline was revealed on when that change might happen. Apparently, that change is coming soon. The Register reports that Kum & Go rewards members got an email warning them of the upcoming transition.

According to the email, Kum & Go stores in Iowa will soon re-open as Maverick stores. Eventually, Kum & Go will no longer exist. The Register reports that Bill Krause and his father-in-law, T.S. Gentle, founded the store in 1959 as Hampton Oil Co., named after the Iowa town where it had a single gas station. As the business grew, the Kum & Go name was adopted in the 1970s. The Register reports that the K stood for Krause and the G stood for Gentle. Now you know.

So while we don't have an exact date that Kum & Go stores will disappear, the change has reportedly already begun in neighboring Missouri. The Hawkeye State is next. That means you still have time for a few more sophomoric jokes, and time for a few more stops at your local Kum & Go. A piece of Iowa history, nearly gone.