Restaurants That Sell Gas

Some convenience stores are beginning to focus more on food than fuel.

February 22, 2012

YORK, Pa. - Nearly three decades ago, Chevy Chase??s character in "National Lampoon??s Vacation" uttered the famous line: "I??m so hungry I can eat a sandwich from the gas station." Today, many people are happy to say they eat lunch at convenience stores.

"I don??t think people are laughing today, particularly in York, if that movie comes on," said Jeff Lenard, NACS spokesman, in the Daily Record. York has many "progressive" stores that are on the cutting edge of a national trend that emphasizes foodservice over fuel, he said.

"Anybody who is in this arena is trying to become more broad-based, more diverse. They want to be able to offer as many different things as they can," said Monica Jones, spokeswoman for Sheetz. The chain??s foodservice program, which it calls "convenience restaurants," offers such items as Yuengling-battered shrimp and fish.

"Instead of gas stations that happen to sell food, we??re going to be restaurants that happen to sell gas," Lenard said. Food quality improved along with the selection. "(Everyone is) more like a New Yorker now," he said. "We??re all walking down the street eating a slice of pizza."

Rutter??s recently added sweet corn bites and mac-and-cheese to its foodservice menu, said Jerry Weiner, vice president of foodservice. Rutter??s refers to its foodservice areas as "restaurants."

Nationally, the average convenience store generated around $227,000 from prepared food sales annually, according to NACS.

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