In a tough economy, c-store retailers are always searching for solutions to streamline the bottom line.
The management team at Abbott’s Travel Center, Abbott, Texas, are kicking off 2025 by exploring two potential bottom-line stimulators they hope will also bump top-line fortunes.
These efforts are taking shape as the company looks to debut a new travel center later this year. Located in Bruceville-Eddy, Texas, Ascent Travel Center will be the company’s second location.
Meantime, the retailer is considering adding robotic foodservice technology to its existing 12,000-square-foot Exxon-branded Abbott’s Travel Center (10,500 square feet of interior space) to support its franchised Krispy Krunchy Chicken program.
“Such a technology investment would allow us to free kitchen staff up so they can do other tasks, such as customer service, stocking shelves, tending to fuel islands,” said Abbott’s co-founder Numan Dharani.
Employing robotic technology to prepare foods such as fried or broasted chicken can be ideal for operations looking to elevate their restaurant business by eliminating labor-intensive frying tasks. Fully automated systems can handle everything from breading, frying, tossing, saucing and packing, said Dharani.
“The due diligence is currently being performed,” said Dharani. “If we can implement this kind of efficiency solution, it would allow our people to pivot to other store tasks, freeing up their time to do other things across the travel center. This isn’t about eliminating anyone but allowing them to move around the store.”
With the Krispy Krunchy program, Abbott’s has more at stake because its staff runs the program, rather than leasing it to the third party. “Krispy Krunchy provides a lot of support, but our team operates it. We have that autonomy—and the motivation—to invest in a robotic fryer to improve the bottom line,” he said.
On foodservice, Abbott’s offers two other brands: Hunt Brothers Pizza and its own Supremo Tacos.
Buying Power Scrutiny
Another potential bottom-line difference-maker is establishing better control of buying power—rather than being at the mercy of onerous supplier cost structures.
Dharani said the main culprits are extended shelf-life vertical categories such as general merchandise and novelties, including apparel, hoodies, automotive products and more. The Abbott’s team is making serious attempts to rein in costs for many of these items.
These days, cost control is a must. “Overall, store sales softened in 2024—the market is down—so we’re trying to reduce expenses across several fronts to compensate,” he said. “We’re needing to weather the storm regarding local market conditions as competition has cropped up around the area.”
Abbott’s Travel Center is looking to conduct a pilot program involving specific store products, starting with novelty-type items. “We’re exploring going directly to the manufacturer and skipping the middleman,” he said. “Often, we’re stuck with minimum ordering quantities—at prices we believe are higher than what we can garner on our own.”
Novelties and general merchandise as a whole offer long shelf life, giving retailers better buying power flexibility. “We need a few more months to see if such a shift is viable,” said Dharani, whose said his customers are about 30% local, 70% off the interstate.
The travel center offers six showers complete with soaps and towels, lounge area and more, to serve the over-the-road trucker customers. Abbott’s Travel Center offers more than 30 truck parking spots and eight diesel fueling lanes.
On the plan to slash costs, Dharani said that “with existing suppliers, maybe we can re-negotiate terms. Who’s to say that you can’t go right through to the manufacturer?”
These efforts are taking shape as the company is poised to debut its next gem, the Bruceville-Eddy, Texas-based Ascent Travel Center.
“It will be situated in a high-traffic corridor with much growth potential. It was about finding the right layout, finding a piece of land that’s ‘broken up’ the way you need it. This location does not have much around it—it’s close to Temple, Texas—and it’s starting to get developed,” he said.
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