How C-Store Retailers Can Deliver on Dinner
C-store operators can make their stores dinner destinations by identifying the big opportunities and creating an effective plan.
The dinner daypart is a worthwhile opportunity for foodservice-oriented c-store retailers that can help them draw an evening crowd and gain more loyal customers. While breakfast is often a big selling point for convenience stores, dinner can stand out as a differentiator, if executed well.
Green Valley Grocery (GVG), with 84 stores in Nevada, recently opened a new store with a fully operational kitchen where made-to-order (MTO) food is prepared fresh daily.
“Basically, we’re taking the best that we like out of the couple that we do already, and we’re combining that all into one,” said Brian Littlejohn, corporate chef at GVG, of the new store.
The new location offers a range of food options including fresh stretch pizza, expanded pastry options, chopped cheese sandwiches and a baked potato concept that also performs well at a location launched last year.
“We have plans for four more full kitchens within the next year to a year and a half, and it will be modeled after this one,” said Littlejohn.
Most GVG stores that do foodservice have a warmer program. Customers can choose from a variety of options depending on the location, such as teriyaki bowls, burgers, chicken carnitas burritos and spam musubi.
Kwik Stop Convenience Stores, operating 27 locations in Nebraska and Colorado, offers a mix of proprietary food programs and third-party partnerships. Its new store opening in North Platte, Neb., like GVG, will feature a range of the chain’s proprietary and partner options.
Kwik Stop’s various offerings include sandwiches, burgers, MTO tacos, PC Pizza, Krispy Krunchy Chicken and more.
Dinner Decisions
To succeed with dinner, convenience stores need to have a dedicated plan for how this segment differentiates itself from breakfast and lunch.
“It’s a matter of how well you’re preparing for it and then how well you’re driving that appetite appeal and ensuring that you’re paying attention to what consumers want to eat, how much they want to eat and where they’re going to consume it along the way,” said Jeff Keune, principal consultant for 4910 Consulting and former retailer/quick-service restaurant (QSR) leader who was instrumental in the development of food programs for Thornton’s, American Natural, Fazoli’s and others.
GVG decided that quality is the path forward for dinner. With consumers more conscious of what they’re putting in their bodies, the chain believes introducing quality ingredients to its food items, even if the customer is charged a bit more, will ultimately yield results.
It also noticed customers are gravitating toward the warmers, so its focus going forward is on better utilizing the TurboChef or Merrychef ovens, packaging the items and placing them on the warmers.
“We’re seeing the dinners out of our warmers. We’re seeing a lot of pizzas and burgers and chicken sandwiches,” said Littlejohn. “The spam musubis are pretty much all day. We could put those things out at 8:30 in the morning and they’ll sell. If we put it out at five o’clock at night, they sell.”
“When I think about the things that we’ve done in the past or I’ve done in the past for dinner,” Keune added, “it’s really taking a look at what the consumer wants and what are the other bigger opportunities — whether it’s limited-time-offer promotions, whether it’s a meal for a family, whether it’s ensuring that you’ve got that speed of service. But you’ve also got that appetite appeal, whether it’s from the marketing elements in-store, the menu or if it’s a build-to-order — (and) the product is fresh, hot and exciting.”
Fast casual or elevated QSRs should be inspiration for c-stores, Keune continued. However, there must be a plan for labor, foodservice design, packaging and more.
Kwik Stop chose to focus its dinner daypart on Family Packs. For instance, Krispy Krunchy Chicken offers a 12-piece bone-in chicken, family wedge and six biscuits deal; PC Pizza offers two large single-topping pizzas for $29.99; and its Mexi Fresh concept offers six tacos and two medium pesos for $15.99.
“Customers are looking for a variety of options to feed the entire family instead of just themselves,” said M. David May, director of food services, Kwik Stop. “… Our primary customer in the evening daypart is the 25-45-year-olds that are looking for a quick, easy take-home meal for their household.”
At GVG, to help inform his dinner plan, Littlejohn receives customer feedback as well as sales data to determine which items sell best at different times of the day, which helps him learn how much of something should be available for dinner.
He’ll bring samples to customers and ask their opinions in the store.
What you want as a retailer, Keune said, is to celebrate the adoption phase of a new program such as dinner so visiting your store for dinner will become a habit to customers. It’s imperative that your store is top of mind when evening arrives.
“We are in smaller communities with very little to no competition during the dinner daypart,” said May. “With that being said, it is important not to let our internal standards falter during this daypart, because we want the customer to experience great quality food at a great price.”
He advised advertising dinner through employees, social media, menu boards and cooler door advertising.
“When you think about driving people in for dinner, one thing that you consider is this: Would you say that your offering is that celebratory meal at the end of the day? And if it’s not, what can you do? And it doesn’t need to be complete overhauls. It’s how do you have the opportunity to have a (few) more people eat a little bit more at dinner,” Keune said.