By Jeff Lenard, Vice President of NACS Media & Strategic Communications

This morning, RaceTrac Inc. said it would acquire the Potbelly Corporation, a national chain of almost 450 sandwich shops, in a $566 million all-cash transaction.

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025. The first reaction to RaceTrac acquiring Potbelly might be “wow.” But the second reaction for a lot of us in the industry was, “That makes a lot of sense.” It brings together elements that are growing in importance in retail, specifically in c-stores: great foodservice with a neighborhood feel.

While the news headlines today were about RaceTrac, recent news stories this week almost foreshadowed the acquisition, focusing on how c-stores in Asia have advanced the concept of convenience to such a level that stores have become a central part of daily life.

In Taiwan, “convenience stores feel like an extension of home,” noted the September 8 Washington Post article, “How Taiwan took the American convenience store — and turbocharged it.” School children do their homework in them while waiting for their parents to come home from work, young professionals purchase their meals there and retirees choose it as a gathering place for coffee and conversation.

Meanwhile, in Japan, “(c-stores) are open and willing to go the extra mile and provide a safe space. People feel a certain sense of affinity and a sense of relief when they see these stores,” said Harvard professor Dr. Gavin Whitelaw in the September 9 New York Times article “Why 7-Eleven and Other Convenience Stores in Japan Are So Special.”

I saw it myself when I toured Tokyo c-stores as part of the NACS Convenience Summit Asia in February.

You can draw a line between the neighborhood feel cultivated in Asian c-stores — and increasingly around the world — and the neighborhood feel that Potbelly has cultivated at its stores. The word “neighborhood” is used multiple times in the press release announcing the acquisition — and for good reason. Potbelly combines all the elements of a place to hang out, including plentiful seating and welcoming décor. It even experimented with live music at locations. Meanwhile, quick-service restaurants, considered a primary competitor to convenience stores, have shrunk their seating areas and focused more on the drive-thru, which can be 70% or more of a store’s customer traffic.

Meanwhile, the acquisition also speaks to the growth of foodservice in convenience stores — because of the industry’s focus on redefining its offer, foodservice has more than doubled its share of in-store sales in the past two decades — from 11.9% in 2004 to 27.7% in 2024, according to NACS State of the Industry Data.

Those growth stats have very much been reflected in the headlines over the past few years, and mainstream news stories are telling a broader audience beyond the industry what loyal c-store customers already know: convenience stores are increasingly leading with their foodservice offer.

This 20-year journey was made possible because of innovation in the kitchens of c-stores across the country that have figured out how to offer tasty, fast and affordable options — and because consumers are embracing the offer.

NACS consumer survey data from 2025 shows that more than one in five convenience store customers (21%) said that they purchased a sandwich or meal the last time they went inside a convenience store.

Whether foodservice will again double its percentage of sales, and if so, how quickly, will depend on how retailers navigate emerging trends and their continued excellence at addressing the food-focused needs of their customers. The news of RaceTrac’s acquisition of Potbelly reflects that leading retailers expect this trend to continue.