LAWRENCEVILLE -- A focus on foodservice in convenience stores in the Gwinnett Daily Post states the case well: Some consumers "get it." Others don’t.
The ones who get it, like Trevor Dowdy, who is featured in the newspaper story, understand that c-stores are increasingly offering quality food at reasonable prices.
“It’s not any new gas station; this is the new QT!” Dowdy told the newspaper after ordering a chicken-bacon-ranch flat bread sandwich at the new QuikTrip c-store in Lawrenceville, Ga. “This was very exciting when it opened.”
The QT, the newspaper notes, "isn’t your average gas station. It has a kitchen and offers an expansive menu of pizzas, toasted sandwiches, hot dogs, pretzels, flat breads and even more variety in pre-made food and drinks.
"But, as those in the industry know, convenience stores like this probably won’t be an anomaly for long. Across the country and throughout Gwinnett County, customers are increasingly stopping at gas stations for food, and gas stations are increasingly upping the ante on what was previously thought possible in the market."
Mike Thornbrugh, spokesman for Tulsa, Okla.-based QT, explained how the convenience chain prepared for a time when gasoline and tobacco sales would slide. And now that this time is upon the industry, "food sales emerged as a means of supplementing the eventual loss of the goose’s golden eggs," the newspaper reported.
“We believed that over time, if we were methodical and took our time to learn the business, that we’d have a chance to be very successful,” Thornbrugh told the newspaper. “We’re just getting to a point where we think we’re pretty good at it. We have a long way to go. The opportunities to add more and more varieties, it’s there. We’ll take our time to get there.”
The newspaper highlights the new QT store's food offer and delves into another local favorite: RaceTrac, which offers sandwiches, hot dogs, lattes, cupcakes and doughnuts, among other fresh-food items.
“RaceTrac’s mission,” executive chef Bob Derian said recently, “is to make people’s lives simpler and more enjoyable, and our fresh food offering gives our guests the opportunity to enjoy great-tasting food without sacrificing quality, freshness or convenience.”
Click here to read the complete Gwinnett Daily Post story.
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