The hottest new pizza places are convenience stores
Pizza chains these days are watching customers drive right by, then filling up on pizza when they fill up at the gas station.
Market research company the NPD Group says that the amount of pizza dough and crust shipped to convenience stores shot up by 27% in only a year. We’re collectively buying 20% more servings of pizza from these outlets than we were a year ago, while servings at traditional carry-out pizza chains are just treading water.
Convenience stores have ramped up their food offerings and gotten more aggressive at courting people outside their core customer base of young to middle-aged blue-collar men, says NPD Group restaurant industry analyst Bonnie Riggs.
