Energy North Inc. is partnering with Crack’d Kitchen & Coffee, a New England-based quick-service culinary-driven eatery, to open the first Crack’d Express in a new flagship Haffner’s convenience store in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
The eatery is a storefront and drive-thru version of the original Crack’d Kitchen & Coffee concept, which specializes in convenient breakfast and lunch items. Offerings include signature breakfast sandwiches, small-batch coffee beverages and espresso drinks, freshly made salads and bowls and items tailored to a variety of dietary restrictions, the company said.
In addition to the Crack’d Express, the flagship Haffner’s location, which opened May 8, includes a c-store, gas station, car wash and a Sal’s Pizza, according to the Energy North website. The location features the bright, bold elements of the revitalized Haffner’s brand and “sets the tone for the company’s future builds,” the company said.
“We are thrilled to now offer Crack’d Express,” said Jeff Black, CEO of Lawrence-based Energy North Inc. “When choosing a partner for our next foodservice venture, we found that Crack’d Kitchen’s principles aligned perfectly with our own. Our collective goal is to provide maximum convenience without compromising on product or service quality, and Crack’d Express embodies that ideal. We look forward to the possibility of expanding into additional locations and bringing the taste and accessibility of Crack’d Express to even more communities.”
- Energy North Group is No. 103 on CSP’s 2022 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by store count.
“Crack’d Express allows us to continue offering freshly made, superior food and drinks and our signature hospitality in an even more convenient format,” Andover, Massachusetts-based Crack’d Kitchen & Coffee co-founder Alan Frati said. “We feel confident that the Crack’d Express model will allow us to reach a larger audience and are thrilled to bring a high-quality option to the fuel station experience.”
Crack’d Express features a pared-down version of Crack’d Kitchen’s menu focusing primarily on craft breakfast sandwiches made with cage-free eggs, house-made sausage and local applewood smoked bacon—and unusual coffee drinks. The Crack’d Kitchen & Coffee team selected these popular items from their original concept, believing they would best cater to the needs of the drive-through and traveling gas station customer base, the company said.
As with Crack’d Kitchen, all Crack’d Express items are made to order with ingredients sourced from reputable local vendors, the company said.
Energy North Inc. is one of the largest wholesale distributors of fuel in New England and upstate New York. It offers major brands including Mobil, Exxon, CITGO, Gulf and Sunoco while continuing to grow its Haffner’s proprietary c-store brand. Energy North Retail operates 70 gas stations, convenience stores, car washes and foodservice locations. The Haffner’s brand operates gas stations and car washes in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine and distributes heating oil and propane while providing HVAC to 45,000 customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and southern Maine.
Crack’d Kitchen & Coffee has locations throughout New England and in Plantation, Florida.
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