TEXARKANA, Texas -- After a four-month soft opening, E-Z Mart Stores' Two Chicks Cafe is holding its grand opening today, marking the 303-unit convenience store chain's first foray into the restaurant business. The space also serves as a test kitchen for the company's propriety EZ-Eatz deli program and other foodservice ventures.
As CSP Daily News reported in July, E-Z Mart decided to open Two Chicks Cafe after the previous tenant, who operated The Old Tyme Burger Shop, opted not to renew the lease. The 68-seat restaurant, named after sisters Sonja Hubbard (CEO) [image-nocss] and Stacy Yates (CFO), is a standalone structure located steps from a Texarkana E-Z Mart store.
"We said we would do something of this magnitude one of these days and one of these days has arrived," J. "Bubba" Kirkland, vice president of merchandising for E-Z Mart Stores Inc., told CSP Daily News in July. "This may be a one-shot deal or it may provide a vehicle for expansion."
Currently, about 50 E-Z Mart stores are equipped with either an EZ-Eatz deli or a branded foodservice program, such as Hot Stuff Foods. Two Chicks Cafe offers comfort foods, such as chicken fried steak, chicken strips, chicken sandwiches and an array of burgers, the chain's signature item.
Under the previous ownership, there was little effort to create crossover between restaurant patrons and fuel/merchandise customers. "For starters, the hours were more limited and the restaurant was only open six days a week," Kirkland said. "We're looking to get some spillover from the store to the restaurant, and the other way around."
Any future Two Chicks Cafes, explained Kirkland, will require a new build or the purchase of another standalone restaurant. No existing E-Z Mart stores will be retrofitted for a full-scale restaurant.Click herefor previous CSP Daily News coverage.
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