CHICAGO – Convenience stores have been upping their foodservice game for a while now, and quick service restaurants are noticing the competition is heating up, QSR Magazine reports. “This is not a minor blip on the radar,” said Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst for The NPD Group’s foodservice division. “C-stores are here to stay as a competitor to quick-service restaurants.”

All across the country, convenience stores are ramping up foodservice offerings, providing hungry customers with spicy chorizo and smoked Gouda on ciabatta, baked tilapia, Arabica coffee and other fresh offerings in interiors that increasingly offer seating. NPD found those offerings have been bringing in customers, with consumers visiting c-stores for prepared foods and snacks close to 4.9 billion times in the year ending May 2016—that’s a 15% bump over 2010. 

Convenience stores aren’t just making inroads into prepared food sales—these retailers are also getting into traditional QSR dayparts, and achieving double-digit increases in lunch and dinner traffic. This has led to convenience stores going after an even larger share of food dollars “by offering fresh baked goods, high-quality coffee, and even a wide selection of fresh produce,” as Fortune reported in 2012.

“In the communities we are in, there are a lot of gaps for this, and we think of ourselves as the one-stop shop,” said Courtney Williams, Sheetz prepared foods manager. “We aim to make the in-store and on-the-go dining experience as enjoyable as possible, ensuring that [guests] have a meal, beverage or snack option that meets their preference,” added Laura Palenkas, Pilot Flying J vice president of marketing and merchandising.

Convenience stores are also paying more attention to the dining room too. More stores now provide comfortable seating areas with charging ports and good lighting. “You’ll find elements in some of these stores that you’d find at a Starbucks, and that’s not by accident,” said Lynn Rosenbaum with Chute Gerdeman. “The convenience stores know they need to match this world.”

For more on how c-stores are battling QSRs for foodservice supremacy, see the October issue of NACS Magazine.