Beginning this week, CSP examines the first of three convenience-store foodservice programs in the annual State of Foodservice issue: A c-store striving to rewrite the rules of foodservice, another diving into healthy foodservice like it never has before and a third completely revamping its coffee program.
This week, CSP looks at Dash In, which recently launched a new menu and format at the first of its third-generation c-stores.
- July 13:TravelCenters of America is working toward attracting customers as a destination for foodservice.
- July 20: GetGo Cafe + Market gives its coffee program a boost.
Dash In’s Big Plans
Dash In is trying to change the foodservice landscape, said Ben Lucky, senior category manager, foodservice.
To kick off this endeavor, the c-store chain owned by La Plata, Maryland-based Wills Group on March 3 rolled out a fresh menu and format at its Chantilly, Virginia, location, the first of its third-generation c-stores.
Dash In is using this location for the format’s trial run, which includes made-to-order items such as griddle-pressed burgers, fried in-house miniature doughnuts and potato chips fried and seasoned in front of guests. Fresher offerings include main course salads like the Southwest Steak and Crispy Chicken Cobb, and Kitchen Bowls such as La Cocina and Veggie Power.
“The menu reinforces Dash In’s commitment to offering wholesome food made on site, using simple, fresh ingredients,” the company of 56 stores said.
The format will expand to other locations from there. Other offerings include new versions in the chain’s upscale quesadilla line, called Stackadillas.
Stackadilla Styling
Dash In started with one Stackadilla in fall 2021, a breakfast item, which performed well right away, spurring four more versions for lunch and dinner, Lucky said. For the new store, Dash In developed an additional three for the made-to-order, prepared-on-the-griddle Stackadilla line: Chicken Bacon Ranch, Roasted Veggies and Steak Fajita.
“One of the best items for the whole year was a carnitas Stackadilla,” he said. “It involved the cheese, tortilla and carnitas, avocado, hot sauce and variety of vegetables, one of which was a corn and black bean medley, which really added to the flavor and the color.”
- The Wills Group, operator of Dash In Food Stores, is No. 130 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
For breakfast at the new location, Dash In has Impossible breakfast sausage items, fresh-made biscuits, croissants and its mini doughnuts.
For lunch and dinner, there are new bowls that include healthy offerings like quinoa and rice. These items align with a recent report from CSP sister research firm Technomic revealing 37% of c-store customers expect plant-based alternative proteins be available today, with 63% expecting them in a couple of years.
In beverages, Dash In is introducing six versions of refreshers, non-carbonated beverages dispensed from bubbler machines with some flavor combinations new to the American palette. “We have a delicious Mango Peach Limeade, a Blueberry Pomegranate Hibiscus and my personal favorite, Blood Orange Yuzu, for example,” Lucky said. “Yuzu is something of a flavor mashup with both tart and mild citrus notes like lemon and mandarin mixed together.”
There also is a self-serve, automated shake and smoothie machine that prepares more than 40 beverages to order.
Customer Customization
The new store’s offerings are reflected in the trends Lucky is seeing, particularly the need for a positive experience and for customization.
“The trend is not necessarily food per se, but the framing of the food,” Lucky said. Referencing the pandemic, he says people still seek cleanliness cues and quality food.
In customization, “People don’t want to be pigeonholed into just buying what we want to sell,” Lucky said. “They might want different flavors on a burger, and we’re going to provide a variety of sauces and toppings. One burger contains pulled pork on top with barbecue sauce and fried onions, like the Funyun kind—not the griddled—to give it a little crunch.”
Donna Hood Crecca, principal at Technomic, said additions like this are not surprising. The hot case is an area experiencing innovation, with recent Technomic data showing one-fifth of operators increased the number of hot case SKUs during the pandemic, she added.
“More foodservice-forward operators never stopped doing innovation in foodservice during the pandemic,” she said.
The positive impact of Dash In’s innovation is in the numbers. At many Dash In sites, foodservice is now 25% of sales, Lucky said. “A few short years ago, before all of the innovation and menu engineering, we were in the single digits.”