Jim Fiene started his c-store career as a thirdshift worker at a Speedway SuperAmerica store while studying cinematography at a Milwaukee technical college. He dreamed of one day making movies as a big-time Holywood director, but he soon realized the convenience retailing industry provided all the drama and excitement he could ever want. "I thrive [...]
Looking for a unique foodservice offer that requires minimal labor and comes with its own edible package? A new company founded by food designer and consultant Nir Adar offers "the first real food innovation since sliced bread." While living in New York, Adar saw how people wrestled with enormous pizza slices and wondered if there [...]
Customers pulling in to one of Jerry Dorminey's NASCAR-themed convenience storesor travel centers are immediately drawn to the Nextel Cup car on display (above).Thanks to his racing connections (he owned his own race team in the 1960s and'70s), he's able to put an actual racecar on each property, like a shiny metalcalling card beckoning the [...]
Oregon retailer More of Everything caters to captive audiences in area shopping malls. It also attracts droves of race fans with exclusive and collectible items. Brian C. Bach’s passion for all things NASCAR came gift-wrapped with his DNA. His father, a photographer, freelanced for the Los Angeles Times and covered NASCAR and Indy races at [...]
Running a convenience store business comes with its share of benefits.For Brian Bach, co-owner of More of Everything, the perks include a companycar…or van, to be more precise. The van features the logo and addresses of More of Everything's two locations,as well as logos of key vendors who helped Bach and business partner Cory Churchillpay [...]
The world’s largest convenience retailer readies to ’pour it on’ with the introduction of Thousand Oaks, its own wine brand. (No word yet of a private-label cheese to go with it.) 7-Eleven Inc., the company that “invented” private-label in the conveniencestore space with its now-famous Slurpee and Big Gulp brands (among others),has taken private brands [...]
Open Pantry Food Marts used its coffee program as the centerpiece for its new bistro-like stores. It’s been so successful that now the company is set to open its own standalone coffee shops. Bubba has always been Open Pantry Food Marts of Wisconsin’s bread andbutter. But if it was going to attract female customers ages [...]
If a recent visit to one of Philadelphia's premier retail attractions is any indication, America's specialty shopping destinations are in trouble. In late June, I visited Philly's South Street, a kitschy shopping district on the outskirts of Center City known for its funky shops and coffeehouses, "colorful" characters and plenty of places to pick up [...]
- Stop'n Go of Medina (Medina, OH) has named Rich Frank as itsnew general manager. Frank had been with Stop'n Go as a consultant and projectmanager for two years and was instrumental in the implementation of a numberof projects, including a prototype Stop'n Go store that opened in late April. – R.J. Reynolds Tobacco has [...]
When a particular category say, foodserviceaccounts for almost 12% of the industry’s total inside sales (which it did last year, per the National Association of Convenience Stores’ State of the Industry report), retailers will work to control it as much as possible. In fact, retailers have spent millions of dollars and man-hours to add cost [...]
Central Ohio Energy (Mansfield, OH) opened its commissary about threeyears ago. Company executives saw a need for a fresh and consistent productand couldn't pinpoint a vendor that could provide the quality it needed andbe flexible about returns. The Ohio chain operates nine locations: eight In-n-Out Marts and one Easy TripStore. The Easy Trip, which is [...]
Some people would sooner swear off "nookie" than give up their morning cup of coffee, according to new research commissioned by Dunkin' Donuts. The donut and coffee chain surveyed close to 1,200 customers (ages 18 to 49) across the country to find that 42% of coffee drinkers say that coffee is a more important or [...]
America is a nation of dashboard diners. But Americans are taking a more sensible approach to eating on the go, realizing the need to balance convenience with healthy eating, according to On-The-Go Eating: Consumer Mindsets, Menu Trends and Product/Packaging Innovations, a new report from market researcher Packaged Facts. Key trends covered in the report include [...]
’Old Salt’ remains the snack category’s strongest draw, but pre-priced items leave an unpleasant taste in the mouths of many retailers. One Arkansas-based merchant opted to take a leading manufacturer’s brands off its shelves over an inflexible pricing policy. No one is irreplaceable. That’s essentially the message Terry Taylorsent one of the packaged snack category’s [...]
Some retailers now accept a new form of customer payment: the human body (or at least part of it). Most people would develop an eating disorder or some other form of neurosis if people continually gave them the finger. But not Colorado’s Bob Zenner. The more people flash him their “digits,” the wider his smile. [...]