Maverik Inc., a North Salt Lake, Utah-based convenience store chain, has secured a site for a gas station and convenience store in the Mead area, and says it expects to develop other outlets in the Inland Northwest.

Brad McDougal, director of real estate for Maverik, says the company bought just over an acre of land at the southeast corner of Day Mount Spokane Road and U.S. 2 from Green Bluff Square LLC in early July. He declines to provide the property purchase amount or estimated project cost.

McDougal says Maverik hopes to begin erecting a 4,200-square-foot store on the Mead property in the next two months. As the Journal reported earlier, the company plans to build a similar-sized store in Cheney, at the southeast corner of First Street and Betz Road.

McDougal says the company is also looking at other possible sites on which to build stores in Spokane and North Idaho. He says Maverik has 220 stores in several Western states, and it completed building a Pasco, Wash., store in June.

"We plan to put a few throughout the whole Spokane area," McDougal says. "We want to have locations in north Spokane, Spokane, and Spokane Valley."

He adds, "How many we put in, I'm not sure; we'll see how well received we are. There's not any Maveriks in Coeur d'Alene, but we're looking for sites in Coeur d'Alene and Hayden."

The company hasn't completed the purchase of the Cheney property, he says, pending city and state approval for its road-access design to compensate for a nearby railroad crossing.

"In Cheney, the railroad crossing access has proven to be a bit of a challenge," says Mc-Dougal. "We're getting that completed with the city of Cheney and Washington DOT and hope to start that in the next 120 days, and not be too far behind this one (in Mead)."

Chad Carper, a broker with Kiemle & Hagood Co. who handled the Green Bluff Square land purchase, says Maverik is the first company to go forward with plans to develop in the commercial center, which has 13 lots in all.