LA CROSSE — Kwik Trip announced July 29 it is buying the Madison-based Stop-N-Go convenience store chain.

A Kwik Trip news release said the acquisition will allow the company to expand in a growing market that is important to the company’s retail growth strategy.

Kwik Trip has more than 700 stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, including Kwik Star stores, and more than 27,000 employees. Stop-N-Go has 36 stores in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, including a location in each Monroe and Brodhead. Both towns also have a Kwik Trip.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in early December. Some stores will remain Stop-N-Go stores, while larger stores will be converted to Kwik Trip, the news release said.

Kwik Trip is in the process of buying the former Grant County Sheriff’s Office and jail property in Lancaster to build a new convenience store.