Mmm, delicious convenience store food

Sometimes you want a sad roller hot dog on a road trip. But sometimes, you really, really don’t.

Dash In, a convenience store chain with 50+ locations across Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, offers made-to-order casual eats, including burgers, quesadillas, salads, and breakfast items.

Mark Samuels, an executive VP of Dash In parent Wills Group, told Business Insider that people now think of convenience stores as a dining destination, “which didn’t happen 20 years ago.”

So, why now?

C-stores had to draw people in after gas pumps added card readers, meaning customers no longer had to go inside to pay.

While tobacco products used to make up the largest share of in-store sales, smoking has significantly declined in the US over the past several decades.

Now, ~92% of c-store customers say their primary reason for stopping by is to buy food or drink — which is often cheaper and faster than fast-food and quick-service restaurant offerings.

And the better the food…

… the bigger the draw.

Take Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based gas station chain with a cult following. Fans love its signature snacks so much that they maintain devoted fan pages and a hot resale market catering to shoppers without a local store.

Customers also spend more time there; Buc-ee’s average customer dwell time is ~21 minutes, compared to Circle K’s ~9, per Placer.ai data.

Other c-stores leaning into the trend:

• 7-Eleven has expanded and improved its food and beverage options, with plans to open 600+ food-focused stores across North America through 2027.
• Sheetz intends to build 60+ stores in southeast Michigan featuring made-to-order food and in-store dining.
• Stinker Stores’ Pete’s Eats program was so successful that the Idaho-based chain decided in 2023 to remodel stores or build new ones to compete with QSRs.

BTW: If you think you love a US 7-Eleven, wait until you see one in Japan.