NEW YORK – We’ve known it for years, thanks to suppliers like Hunt Brothers Pizza, but it seems that the rest of the country is finally taking note of the prize-worthy pies to be found at convenience stores and gas stations around the country. “Pizza chains these days are watching customers drive right by, then filling up on pizza when they fill up at the gas station,”writes TIME magazine this week.

Citing research that shows a 20% increase in pizza purchased in the convenience channel, as the traditional pizza chains stay flat, it’s clear that convenience stores increased foodservice offers are seeing success.

According to NACS Vice President of Strategic Industry Initiatives Jeff Lenard, Casey’s General Stores, an Iowa-based convenience store chain is actually the fifth largest pizza seller in the country, behind Dominos, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s and Little Caesars in the top four slots.

Last year, convenience stores sold $40.6 billion worth of food prepared on-site, coffee and fountain drinks, an annual increase of around 10%. That’s roughly 20% of all sales, and prepared food makes up a growing percentage of the industry’s profits. (For the most extensive data available showing how the foodservice category stacked up last year, pre-order a copy of the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2014 Data.)ast year, convenience stores sold $40.6 billion worth of food prepared on-site, coffee and fountain drinks, an annual increase of around 10%. That’s roughly 20% of all sales, and prepared food makes up a growing percentage of the industry’s profits. (For the most extensive data available showing how the foodservice category stacked up last year, pre-order a copy of the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2014 Data.)

Strong foodservice offers – of which pizza can be a major component – have helped the industry attract new customers. Women and Millennials are a growing demographic for c-stores, and according to NACS data, almost 60% of customers and 70% of Millennial customers say they’d eat convenience store fare, and more than 40% customers think it’s possible to get fresh or healthy food at convenience stores.