It all emerged in the 1990s—what Gen Alpha calls the late nineteen-hundreds. That’s when NACS created the Dangerfield Project because, like the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, the c-store industry “don’t get no respect.” It also cleverly tied to the NACS office in Alexandria, Virginia, being located at the intersection of Duke Street and Daingerfield Road.
During that time, convenience stores were often touted as gas stations with subpar and unhealthy food. NIMBY concerns about gas, traffic, bright lights, trash and 24-7 operations attracting crime into neighborhoods flooded zoning approval meetings for new c-store builds in local communities. We had a perception problem.
Fast forward to about 15 years ago, we shifted from Dangerfield to project reFresh, a NACS initiative that set out to refresh the industry’s image by sharing positive stories about the industry and partnering with credible community-focused groups to shift industry misperceptions around food, community involvement and jobs/careers.
There’s a ton I could share on how the industry has evolved in the past two decades, the groups we’ve worked with, the stories our retail members have shared and the successes we’ve realized through project reFresh.
When we look at foodservice overall in the c-store industry, the change in perception is supported with data. In just two decades, total industry foodservice sales have gone from about 12% of inside sales in 2004 to nearly 28% of inside sales in 2024. (2025 data is forthcoming in a few months at the NACS State of the Industry Summit)
However, we know some negative perceptions persist.
Yes, we all roll our eyes at comments about roller grill hot dogs spinning for days on end, with harmful bacteria growing with each rotation. (And we all know that hot dogs don’t cook on a roller grill—they’re reheated.) But these comments show how deeply rooted some of the misperceptions are.
Foodservice is widely recognized as key to the future of the constantly evolving convenience store industry, both in the U.S. and globally. There should be a widespread understanding of the risks associated with selling food—and widespread agreement that it’s imperative to sell food safely.
Many food safety risks can cause foodborne illness, but these top five are the most frequent culprits of a foodborne illness. They are also the factors that result in the most health inspection violations:
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Poor personal hygiene (handwashing is No. 1)
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Purchasing food from unsafe sources
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Failing to cook food adequately
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Using contaminated equipment
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Holding food at improper temperatures
Although c-store food may not get the bad rap it used to, just one foodborne illness outbreak—whether mishandled or preventable—has the potential to exacerbate any remaining stigma across the entire industry. This outbreak could stem from a single store, whether an independent or part of a large chain.
Prepared food, which is a broad foodservice category, generated nearly three quarters of all industry foodservice sales in 2024. Prepared food is often front and center in c-stores, with teams preparing food items right in front of the customer—pizza, salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers.
Customers need to know that the food they are purchasing is high quality, fresh and safe. This is where the perception shift comes into play.
“Our food programs are growing, our guests trust our brands, and we’re proving that they trust our channel. That’s a huge responsibility for all of us,” said Amy Costello, director of food safety and quality assurance at Casey’s during the 2025 NACS Food Safety Forum.
Costello is returning to this year’s NACS Food Safety Forum—now in its fifth year—to moderate the one-and-a-half-day event on April 13-14.
Safe food builds trust, and with that trust comes positive perception about c-store food. Ultimately, investing in foodservice goes hand in hand with investing in food safety and protecting public health.