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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 2 May 2017

American Living:

The new fast food? Convenience stores add hot, cheap options

CANDICE CHOI can also request items like
AP Food Industry Writer a gallon of milk from else-
NEW YORK (AP) — Saying where in the store if they
“convenience store food” want.
may make people think of Travis Sheetz, the chain’s
spinning hot dogs by the vice president of opera-
counter, but places like tions, says he has also seen
7-Eleven are expanding growth more recently in
their hot food offerings in the cold cases where yo-
hopes of stealing custom- gurts, cut fruit and other
ers away from fast-food pre-packaged foods are
chains. sold.
The push by convenience Those options cater to the
stores into hot, fast, afford- growing number of people
able foods is just one of the looking for “convenient
pressures facing chains like health,” he said.
Burger King, Wendy’s and Because the convenience
Taco Bell. The traditional store industry has so many
fast-food chains are also smaller chains and inde-
fighting for customers with pendents, those stores
smaller restaurant chains, might not have the resourc-
and with supermarkets es to develop competitive
that offer prepared foods prepared food offerings,
for busy shoppers. Customers use a touchscreen to order food at a QuickChek convenience store in Cedar Knolls, says Chris Mandeville, a
Low prices and speed N.J. In 2016, 22 percent of convenience stores’ sales came from prepared foods like pizzas, sand- Jefferies analyst who tracks
for ready-to-eat foods at wiches, burgers, coffee and fountain sodas, up steadily from 13 percent in 2010, according to a the industry. That may lead
convenience stores are preliminary annual report released by an industry association. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) some convenience stores
big factors. McDonald’s to team up with fast-food
partly blames its declining chains like Subway rather
number of customer visits cases. That’s in addition to tomers have household in- Cigarettes remain the No. than compete with them,
in the U.S. on its failure to sandwich melts the chain comes of less than $40,000, 1 seller at convenience and open up outposts
hold onto the deal-seekers introduced in 2015. The the National Association of stores, but are generally within their locations.
at the cheaper end of its chain — which still sells hot Convenience Stores said in on the decline. So conve- And for stores cooking up
menu after eliminating the dogs by the counter — has a recent report. nience stores are expected their own food offerings,
Dollar Menu. expanded to about 8,900 Prepared foods and drinks to keep trying to sell more the image of convenience
“If you go to convenience U.S. locations and says like pizzas, burgers and cof- food as smoking rates fall. store food is a challenge.
store conventions, all they food is a top priority. fee accounted for 22 per- The Sheetz chain, which “Older folks tend to think
talk about is the decline of “We can drop in a product cent of convenience store is based in Pennsylvania of the roller dogs that have
gas and tobacco, so they (in stores) overnight, and sales last year, an industry and has more than 540 lo- been sitting on the grill for
have to become more like all of a sudden we’re in a report said last month, a cations in six states, says hours,” Mandeville said.
(fast food),” Dunkin’ Do- brand-new business,” says figure that has risen from half of its new locations Wawa, which has about
nuts CEO Nigel Travis said Nancy Smith, the compa- 13 percent in 2010. The in- are built with a drive-thru, 750 stores along the U.S.
in March, noting the effect ny’s senior vice president of dustry says many people an accommodation the East Coast, says the qual-
of convenience stores on the chain’s food and drinks. in rural areas who may not fast-food industry relies on ity of food at convenience
his business. Convenience store pric- be near supermarkets of- for the majority of its sales. stores has improved. It also
In the past year, 7-Eleven es points can also be a ten get their groceries from While Sheetz customers use says convenience stores
has added $1.99 chicken draw for people who may convenience stores, but the drive-thru mainly to or- have an advantage over
sandwiches and cheese- have less money to spend. the push into hot and pre- der from the chain’s made- fast-food chains because
burgers kept in warming About 60 percent of con- pared foods in recent years to-order foods like burgers, people increasingly value
venience store food cus- is driven by another factor. the company says they speed and variety. q